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I have several co-workers or friends who are active on a site that I moderate, they also know that I'm a moderator. I've come across a situation where one of these users has been participating in inappropriate behavior directed at other users.

When a moderator has a personal relationship with the user, should you allow another moderator to take action?

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When a moderator has a personal relationship with the user, should you allow another moderator to take action?

Almost always. In fact, ask another moderator to take care of it. Business + friends almost always == disaster.

Some things that could go wrong:

  • You might not give them enough punishment/be lenient on them.
  • They could accuse you of giving them too much of a punishment and say, "I'm nice to you, why do you have to be a jerk?"
  • Another member of the community might say that you didn't punish them enough (even if you did).
  • It could make other moderators cautions or skeptical, making this entire thing a bigger deal than it needs to be.

I don't see any real advantage to doing this. Just, please, don't do this.

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Let someone else do it.

This is to preserve not only the integrity of the moderation of the site, but the friendships of you and your peers. Don't moderate people you know - if you think something's amiss, pass it off to someone else.

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