We had a lot of behind-the-scenes discussions about this issue, as we do with any controversial situation. The moderators, including Dwight as the site administrator, take this very seriously. In some cases we can lock or delete a post or thread within minutes of a violation. We have banned a number of people without most active members being aware of the bans. Most of the moderators check the site multiple times per day, plus we all get automatic emails if you click the [NOTIFY] button at the bottom of a problem post. Similarly, we don't have to delete a lot of posts, but we do it discreetly and we notify those involved, unless they are spammers.
We also sometimes edit posts, and don't always notify if it is not controversial. Sometimes it is humorous. One of the mods recently edited a post by one of our well-respected noncontroversial members. He had a one letter typo in his post that made it appear extremely offensive. It was definitely not meant that way.
Grey areas get discussed a lot. In most cases, the posters receive PMs from one of the moderators.
We try to be as fair and understanding as possible.
Thankfully, we have few issues. We do keep a close eye on several who do sometimes post somewhat controversial or offensive subjects. We deal with them individually.
Ken
Moderator
