I am asking this question because of a recent encounter with a moderator on this post. A moderator asked me to add an example to my answer, and when I didn't, he just deleted my answer.

Some extra points :

• The post had a bounty that was close to elapsed
• My answer was the only answer and AFAIK was correct
• I added the example, but the moderator left the answer deleted and the bounty elapsed

Had my encounter been with anyone else but a moderator, I would have received a comment such as : "I down-voted your answer because an example is required. If you add the example I will reverse my action". And it would have had much the same effect on me.

Somehow it seems to me that deleting an answer when other actions were possible, is too-final, a too-strong disciplinary action against a disobedient user.

As an aside: Bounty posts are protected against closing, but not answers. As the poster here lost his reputation for nothing, I think that he is owed his reputation back.

[EDIT]

Apparently there is no answer and no guidelines to the question of whether a moderator should take moderator-level action when a weaker community-level action might suffice and communicate the same message.

Everything is relative, but from my point of view a sledge-hammer was used when a little tap on the fingers was enough. A netiquette for moderators is clearly not to be developed in this post, but some thinking on the subject would benefit us all. I didn't get an answer to my question, but did get useful information for the future.

Thanks to everybody that has contributed an answer here.