And given the lack of policy, moderation power is necessarily exercised arbitrarily.
As I understand it, the word "arbitrary" refers to lack of relevant or systematic explanation or reason for something. I'm not sure what meaning you intend, the word is confusing the way you use it in this context. (Suppose hypothetically that the policy I stated above was more prominently stated previously.)
I'm not sure what meaning you intend
Ah, glancing at a dictionary, I had intended "Based on or subject to individual judgement or preference" with a splash of "despotic".
As I understand it, moderators are expected to use their judgement, and do not have any firm guidelines on where to apply it. Alicorn recently commented that the best she got for guidance was "ban shoe ads" (quoted from memory).
Yes, if the putative policy you stated above was more prominently stated before, that would help. Notably, if it were on record s...
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.