The off-topic posts you reference which where hidden, were against the rules (off-topic) and as such were legitimately moderated. You guys should have started a new thread. I created this new thread to divert the off-topic discussion away from the thread where @ISD_Dorrim_Barstorlode originally posted his replies.
I wrote in the OP that I expected this thread to be locked exactly because of discussing moderation. This thread was mostly a message to Dorrim Barstorlode because I have no way to send him a PM. I never expected this to remain open, because as said, discussion of moderation is still against the rules. So Dorrim or any other ISD is free to lock it at any time, unless they still feel the discussion provides them some additional insight.
I hope the ISD and especially Dorrim, has not seen this as some form of attack, but instead genuine constructive criticism around the ambiguous rules regarding flagging and how the flag mechanism functions/is moderated.
It is with a heavy heart that I will have to close this thread, mainly as it does violate āDiscussion of Moderationā and the āRe-opening of locked topicsā rules, however, giving that its been open for over 24 hours, it has given you all an opportunity to share your thoughts on this matter.
A lot of flags are geniune and the action of each flag will depend on the moderator as what I may take the post as being inappropriate or off-topic, another moderator may see it as borderline and leave as is - although I believe we are all relatively close on the tolerances.
As for flagging a large number of posts in a thread - this is fine if they were all in violation of the rules such as spamming, personal attacks and inappropriate behaviour. Depending on the thread, we will just remove the offending flags or leave as they are (if no further action is required) or we will review the thread as a whole and make the decision to either close the thread or bulk remove a lot of the posts. It is unnecessary to flag a number of posts for the sake of it or for baiting purposes.
I believe there is an option when flagging a post to select āSomething Elseā if it is not relevant to the drop down list and you can add an additiional comment that will be reviewed and action taken (if necessary).
I will raise the question around the automated text when we respond to a flag to see if it is something that can be changed or looked into further - canāt promise anything though.
As a final note before closing this thread, I have posted a link to the rules below which is what we āmoderatorsā use as guidance, however, we will use common sense if required.
