In my reading of this thread, I ran across discussion of whether administrative actions on this site (or any site) are capricious, arbitrary, or can be so narrowly defined that I could write a program to replace me.
I try very hard to make sure all of my decisions are as objective as possible and consistent. And to not be or appear arbitrary.
That's the best I can do, though. I'm human. Subjectivity does get involved and a certain amount of inconsistency is a given. I believe that apparent inconsistency is far greater than real inconsistency, but I'm not about to open up user records complete with deletions, suspensions, and admin notes to prove that point.
If one person gets suspended for 15 days and another person gets suspended for 1 day (as has happened today in this thread), at face value that may appear inconsistent or arbitrary. It's arguably both, but it can't be otherwise. I have to decide, based on past and current conduct and suspension/deletion/warning history, what length of suspension will be most effective in getting my point across. You can't write an algorithm for that. It's a judgment call.
So, I try not to be inconsistent and arbitrary, but, being human, I'm going to be to some extent. Period. Worse, though, my actions are seen by many other humans. Their own take on my actions is not going to be consistent. Every action or inaction is going to be seen by *someone* as being inconsistent, arbitrary, capricious, or even malevolent.
That's a "problem" that defies solution and anyone who says otherwise hasn't really thought it through.
The best I or anyone else can hope for is that I'll be as consistent and fair as I can be. Perfection is not attainable. |
