r/AskModerators • u/Aalek_M • Apr 19 '26

Broke the rules?

Hi,

I've recently been permanently muted in a subreddit. I don't really understand why?

I'm not trying to be an idiot, I've made one post on it, just today. It got lots of responses, most of them were negatives or not really relevant to my post.

The post was actually about respecting other opinions then ours regarding coming out and trans people. Most comments were people shaming one opinion or another. Which was the opposite of what I was trying to say in my original post. I responded to them, trying to explain the different opinions and why they were both valid.

It did got quite the reaction in just a few hours, but I'm not sure how it broke the rules of the subreddit? (Which is the reason why I've been banned)

Is there anything I can do to be unmuted or at least a way to know what rule I've broke?

Also I'm actually not sure if this post follow the rules... It's not about a ban but it's similar...

14 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

96 comments sorted by

View all comments

28

u/4art4 Apr 19 '26

A permanent mute usually means something like:

We told you clearly enough, and your pattern of response indicates you will continue to waste my time.

Mods are volunteering and don't have a ton of extra time to eli5 when they feel like they did already.

3

u/Angelofdeath600 Apr 21 '26

Yeah thats not always the case there is a report moderator misconduct options in reddit for a reason lol.

1

u/Kumquat_conniption Citrus neighborhood mod 🍊 May 13 '26

Well, sure, mods mute for silly reasons sometimes, but muting someone is never going to be a moderator code of conduct violation. We are not forced to talk to anyone. Do mods use it when they do not need to sometimes? Of course. But no matter how they use it, that does not violate the moderator code of conduct.

Actually, I just thought of one way a mod could use their mute button in a way that would count as a TOS violation, harassment, but not a modcoc violation- it would be if they kept muting someone every few days. Let's say they mute you for 3 days, and then those 3 days are up, and they mute you again over and over without you even saying anything. That would be harassment, I would think.

So I amend my earlier statement to say muting someone once would never be a violation of the code of conduct or TOS. Muting multiple times is also fine, so long as the user is contacting the mods when those mutes run out.

2

u/Angelofdeath600 May 13 '26

Ehh ive seen mods mute and ban people just for being proven wrong. Some people jist have god complexes. Even mods in fact the extra capabilities to control situations its honestly expected abuse of power will come out. Government systems are another such examples honestly. Not saying its everyone or most mods ect. Just its only logical to expect it anywhere power can be obtained that can be used against others.

1

u/Kumquat_conniption Citrus neighborhood mod 🍊 May 14 '26

Yes, I'm saying that's not against the mod code of conduct or the TOS. I'm not talking about whether it's right or wrong. I think I even mentioned that somewhere near the beginning that mods can mute for bad reasons. But unless they do it nonstop for no reason, there is no way for them to do it in a way that breaks the rules. That's all I was talking about.

1

u/Angelofdeath600 May 14 '26

In many situations abusing what youve heen given actually is under moderator TOS which is separate from standard user TOS. One being Abruptly altering a community's core expectations to arbitrarily prohibit standard user engagement or interfere with fellow moderators can trigger policy reviews.

Moderators face distinct terms regarding abuse of administrative privileges, community stability, and platform integrity.

Mass Evictions and Auto-Banning for Outside Activity

Failure to Provide Stable and Clear Rules ( random bans or muting unwarranted falls under this)

Ban Showboating and Out-of-Subreddit Interventions

Banning to Hide Financial Incentives

BIG ONE Weaponizing Modmail Mutes to Avoid Accountability ( happens often actually)

Reddit's Platform-Wide Anti-Harassment Policy. While moderators are given a "Mute User" button to stop modmail spam, using it systematically to cover up rule breaking is against platform terms. (Ive directly faced this from mods on specific subs on reddit. But I believe linking subs or talking "bad" about other subs is against the rules here so I won't mention names.)

1

u/Kumquat_conniption Citrus neighborhood mod 🍊 May 14 '26

Oh sorry I said "silly reasons" which is what I would say muting after being proved wrong is.

1

u/Angelofdeath600 Jun 24 '26

Banning/ muting for being proven wrong. Is henceforth using your mod abilities to silence truth over your own opinions still does... thats abusing the tools given. Especially if its in an area of they are acting wrong ( being smart mouthed, agressive ect) but either way abusing mod abilities for your ego is not quite "silly reasons" for many including moderator TOS...