What if someone gets into a feud with Eliezer? Does he have to step down? This doesn't seem like a very practical rule.
Per fezzwig, it just means, "Hey, other moderator, I'm not close enough to impartial here, so look at this thread and make the judgment on it."
That would mean that if moderator A nobly "avoided" getting another moderator, but then picked a moderator B, over which A has unusual influence, and did it precisely "when it actually mattered [to A]", that would also not be kosher.
In light of recent (and potential) events, I wanted to start a discussion here about a certain method of handling conflicts on this site's discussion threads, and hopefully form a consensus on when to use the measure described in the title. Even if the discussion has no impact on site policy ("executive veto"), I hope administrators will at least clarify when such a measure will be used, and for what reason.
I also don't want to taint or "anchor" the discussion by offering hypothetical situations or arguments for one position or another. Rather, I simply want to ask: Under what conditions should a specific poster, "Alice" be prohibited from replying directly to the arguments in a post/comment made by another poster, "Bob"? (Note: this is referring specifically to replies to ideas and arguments Bob has advanced, not general comments about Bob the person, which should probably go under much closer scrutiny because of the risk of incivility.)
Please offer your ideas and thoughts here on when this measure should be used.