I never thought of a liberal bias. i just thought the posting rules were very broad, subjective, and inconsistently applied.
I got told to tune down hyperbole a few days ago for writing humor. I don't think if one of the mods here had written the same thing anybody would have said anything.
As I recall, you admitted rule-breaking behavior, and posted something about the "People's Republic of Cambridge". I'm not going to apologize for enforcing our rules (one of which is "Do not use disparaging nicknames for public figures or entities".)
Mods have also been known recently to say that threads could be locked because a thread is close to being disrespectful. I have always been a close is good for only handgrenades kind of guy so if a mod says it's being close to disrespectful then it isn't disrespectful. In the mean time another longtime poster had already posted a post saying thanks for everyone being so respectful that about 5 people had agreed with.
I'm not sure what instance you're referring to, but the role of moderators is to keep threads on track and to prevent arguments from breaking out. If things are getting chippy, a mod will usually step in.
You were the one who hit the nail on the head on that one saying that it was a thread subject nearly impossible for some people to not find somee legitmate offense to, similar to some other expressly forbidden topics like abortion. Yet it was a mod who first reponded to that whole thread.
In the mean time you put up a post asking people what they should do about it. Then took it down after one post. So first you were interested in our opinions then not so interested.
The gay marriage thread was largely respectful, with a handful of inflammatory remarks or comments where people seemed to be posting to push people's buttons. Despite the extreme viewpoints offered at times, we allowed people to express their views, and did not edit due to content. Also, of course, our moderators are also posters here, and a lot of times have thoughts they'd like to share and discuss.
As for the thread I posted that you're referring to, that thread was addressed to the other mods; it was temporarily posted in the main forums by mistake.
So in terms of rules it is easy for one to often feel as though they are walking on egg shells, except some egg shells you can walk on and some you can't.
Fair enough. If you've got suggestions on how things could be better, this is the thread to post them in.