Continuous overuse of moderation rights

Question

Occassionally I come upon a question which seems rather obvious to me, but was nevertheless closed as either "not focused enough" (example 1) or "unclear what's being asked" (example 2).

Well that's fine then, but a common theme across such questions is that they were closed single-handledly by a moderator just a few minutes after it was asked, without attempting to ask for clarification through comments, and without actually giving anyone else who does understand the question a chance to properly answer it.

I believe that the "unclear" votes only make sense if multiple people cast them – it does not make sense to close off a question to everyone just because one mod fails to understand what's being asked, and I do think that this is becoming a misuse of moderator powers. It is not the job of a moderator to say "if I cannot understand this, then nobody else can either".

And that's not even counting the posts that ask "How do I find out which hardware suits my needs" and immediately get closed with "Try asking how to find out what suits your needs" 5.

Or the posts which are closed as "seeking learning material recommendations" 6 even though the question asks for a very specific explanation; it would be difficult to give an opinion-based answer to that. And of course, the moderator happens to provide links to learning materials in a comment – despite closing the question for allegedly requesting the same.

Or self-answers where OP explains how they solved their own issue – getting deleted because "they do not provide an answer to the question".

It's not that I'm writing this post because I disagree with a few specific actions – none of those are my own posts, and I'm not looking for explanations for each and every example. Honestly I don't even care for explanations. Rather, I'm posting this because it feels like the same has been going on for well over a year, and even with my addiction keeping me here, it's really disheartening to see actions from the same moderator that seem to go against the spirit and the word of the rules over and over and over, and I want to get this off my chest.

Answer 1

Occasionally I come upon a question which seems rather obvious to me, but was nevertheless closed as either "not focused enough" (example 1) or "unclear what's being asked" (example 2).

Here is a screenshot of Example 1:

Here is a screenshot of Example 2:

Both of those questions are not clear. The first question cannot be answered with the information provided. The author of that question could clarify their question at any point. The second example has one major problem, it absolutely not clear what the author means by "IX", based on my research I can only assume they mean internet exchange point. The author really should have made that point clear. I absolutely agree that those questions were not clear.

Here is a screenshot of Example 3:

Here is a screenshot of Example 4:

Example 3, of course, is a comment and should have never been submitted as an answer. Example 4 is not well received due to the author's tone, I have purposefully omitted the author's name, from the screenshot to avoid drawing attention to that question.

I believe that the "unclear" votes only make sense if multiple people cast them – it does not make sense to close off a question to everyone just because one mod fails to understand what's being asked, and I do think that this is becoming a misuse of moderator powers. It is not the job of a moderator to say "if I cannot understand this, then nobody else can either".

A moderator is still a member of the community. While their vote is binding, they should still be allowed to vote to close questions, they believe are out of scope or are unclear. Community members can reverse their decision by voting to reopen or undelete any question.

Here is a screenshot of Example 5:

Here is a screenshot of Example 6:

Example 5 could be improved and reopened. Example 6 showed no research effort, it is not currently deleted, it could be modified and reopened. Honestly in any of these cases, the close reason is not perfect, but that is the system we have.

Or self-answers where OP explains how they solved their own issue – getting deleted because "they do not provide an answer to the question".

I typically vote to close any question, which contains the solution to their problem, as being a question that is already solved. I have found asking the author to submit an answer, typically results in the author of the question, responding in such a way that is rude or is not supportive of polite discourse.

It's not that I'm writing this post because I disagree with a few specific actions – none of those are my own posts, and I'm not looking for explanations for each and every example. Honestly I don't even care for explanations. Rather, I'm posting this because it feels like the same has been going on for well over a year, and even with my addiction keeping me here, it's really disheartening to see actions from the same moderator that seem to go against the spirit and the word of the rules over and over and over, and I want to get this off my chest.

I suspect the moderator is becoming aware of these low quality contributions through the flagging system. In fact there isn’t a single one of those contributions where I disagree with the outcome. A moderator does not stop being a community member, once they are elected to become a moderator, this means they should positively contribute to the community. The only thing that changes is their vote is binding, and while I expect a moderator to take that into account, they should not stop being a community member.

While I have provided an explanation for each and every example, my viewpoint is not going to easily be changed, I do not agree with your conclusion. I do not see the overuse of moderator rights in the examples you provided.

Indeed I am one of those community members that rather delete low quality content then try to improve it. I have very specific reasons for that, if you have ever attempted to get a question answered on Microsoft Answers, you can understand the frustation of trying to read a question and expecting a clear concise detailed answer.