Do admins ever actually listen to user feedback?

I’d love to hear some thoughts on this from everyone—the admins, the mods, and even my fellow forum members alike.

Here’s my reasoning:

Based on my own experiences here, and just looking through the various complaints filed by others, I’ve started to get the impression that the administrators NEVER actually uphold any (legitimate) appeals regarding a moderator's decision.

It honestly feels like there's an unwritten rule in play: the moderator is always right, no questions asked.

So, I'm curious—can anyone point to actual instances where an admin stepped in and sided with a user against a moderator's action? How common is that, really?

👋

hiddenpuma75 said:Looking through the other complaints, I get the impression that the admins NEVER actually uphold any valid appeals regarding moderator actions.

Unfortunately, you aren't reading closely enough... 😁

Laura Evans3 said:I think you might be skimming a little too fast... 😁

Come on, give us something to work with—a specific example, a link, a thread, or even just a case you're thinking of.

Since opening this thread, I received a private email that serves as a real teaching moment for all of us.
I’ll leave out the sender's name and certain specific details, but I want to share his testimony along with my response.

You're asking stupid questions.
You're calling out the admins, but the admins are just a handful of like-minded people who, frankly, couldn't care less about anything and just exist to laugh at everyone else.
Take me, for example—I was stripped of my moderator status just because I sent an admin a private message.

Good grief.
Honestly, you're better off just giving up on this forum altogether... don't even bother getting worked up.

1) To be honest, I’m not actually getting upset here. This whole thing is endlessly entertaining for me; it's genuinely fascinating to observe how different personalities clash. To me, this forum is like watching a great movie.🙂
The mere fact that I've been posting here for eight years, watching mods and admins come and go while hiddenpuma75 (aka the brand 😉) remains constant, really says it all.😉

2) I truly appreciate the lesson and the blunt honesty regarding the "underground" ways the moderator-admin hierarchy actually functions.

3)
I am a firm believer that discussing any issue helps bring certain patterns to light, and through the alchemy of conversation, everyone involved undergoes some kind of transformation.
Even if your legitimate requests fail because of a moderator's stubbornness or some administrative ego games, you are still planting the "seeds" for improvement next time.

Because, well,

nobody is ever 100% wrong.
And nobody is ever 100% right.
👋

hiddenpuma75 said:Come on, just give me an example, a link, a thread, or even a specific case you're thinking of.

Why? 😁
Will seeing it actually change your mind about how it's always assumed the moderator is automatically right?
Next time you get flagged, are you going to keep digging your heels in against the moderator who issued the warning, or will you take a second to consider if you might actually be the one in the wrong?

Is this Mike! sending a DM? 🤣 🙏

wiredharbor22 said:Wait, did Mike send a PM? 🤣 🙏

That’s exactly what I was thinking. 🤣

Laura Evans3 As I was saying:
Why on earth? 😁
Will that change your mind? It feels like they’re operating under this unspoken rule where the moderator is just automatically right about everything.?
Next time you get flagged by a moderator, are you going to keep doubling down and talking trash, or will you actually take a second to wonder if you might be the one in the wrong?

Until the moderators and admins actually step up and provide some concrete examples, there isn't much for us to say.
I was simply sharing some observations based on my own personal experience.

I’m fully aware of the fact that I’ve been "in the right" on two separate occasions—which is just a polite way of saying I was unfairly penalized.
The admins didn't exactly step up to help me when I voiced my concerns publicly about everything being discussed here.

They actually ended up stepping in later to fix their own exaggerations and errors, which I think proves my point.

I remember one instance where I was hit with an absolutely ridiculous fine—it felt like they slapped me with a $1,000 penalty out of nowhere.😲 It’s quite a heavy blow—he was hit with a sentence that carries some serious weight. It's a really tough accusation to face, and honestly, the conviction itself feels incredibly harsh.
The admins didn't lift a finger to help me, even after I made a public complaint about the whole situation. Honestly, the reasoning behind the accusation was so absurdly ridiculous it felt like a sketch from Monty Python. Apparently, according to hiddenpuma75, I’m "as tedious as a bout of food poisoning." 🤣 )
Just some behind-the-scenes chatter between two moderators—one being a virtual friend of mine who seems to actually value my perspective and what I bring to this community, and the other expressing a desire to walk back a decision they made.

Honestly, if that moderator hadn't been so determined to be flexible and fair, the administrators wouldn't have stepped in to help me at all—even though everything was laid out right here for everyone to see, fully documented and available for public review.

wiredharbor22 said:Did Mike send a DM? 🤣 🙏

Absolutely. 🤣

wiredharbor22 said:Wait, did Mike send me a DM? 🤣 🙏

Initial impressions 😁

hiddenpuma75 said:....

Are you absolutely certain that Zelia changing their mind wasn't actually pressure coming down from the site admins? 😬

Laura Evans3 As I was saying:


Are you absolutely certain about that? I’ve been thinking about this lately, and honestly, I think we need to talk more about what we actually want out of life. It sounds simple, right? Just "desire." But when you really sit down and peel back the layers, it gets complicated fast. We spend so much time chasing things because we think we *should* want them—the bigger house in the suburbs, the fancy title at a firm like Goldman Sachs, or just keeping up with everyone else on social media. But there's a huge difference between those external pressures and that quiet, genuine pull from within. I used to be terrible at distinguishing the two. I'd spend months working toward a goal, only to reach it and feel... nothing. Just a hollow sense of "Is this it?" I've realized that true desire isn't about hitting a checklist; it's about finding those things that actually make you feel alive. It’s okay to admit that what you want might not look like what everyone else expects. In fact, it's probably better if it doesn't. Does anyone else struggle with this? How do you tell the difference between a fleeting whim and something that actually matters to your soul? Has there been any word from the administration about having a second moderator step in to review that decision? 😬

Yes. 😉

hiddenpuma75 said:that 😉

It’s cute when someone thinks they’re 100% certain. 🙂

Take me for instance—I got slapped with an unfair penalty, filed a formal appeal, and they ended up wiping it from my record entirely.

So, I accidentally went off on one of the ladies on here, and man, I got hit with a warning immediately for messing up. My ban was lifted right away, though.

hiddenpuma75 said:I’m looking for some answers on this one, and I’d love to see what the admins, mods, and even you guys on the forum have to say. Lay some examples on me!

Here’s the breakdown:

From my own experience—and honestly, just looking through all the other complaints floating around here—it really feels like the admins... NEVER! The mods are totally blowing off everyone's complaints about how they handle things around here. It’s like our appeals don't even matter to them.

It’s like they’re all following some unwritten rule where the moderator is just automatically right about everything. Total bias.

Does anyone actually have examples of this happening? I'm curious if there are any cases where an admin stepped in and actually sided with a user against a moderator's decision. How often does that even go down?

👋

So, one of the female admins finally came through for me... but only after I slid into her DMs. Before that, it was just radio silence from everyone. My penalty points stayed on my record, but hey, at least they went on the record publicly that I was right all along. They admitted the mod was being biased and messed up, and they actually handed out the same penalty to the other person too. Fair enough, I guess!

What the hell is this crap?☕

wiredharbor22 said:Wait, did Mike send a DM? 🤣 🙏

Actually, it was me... 🤣

And yeah, they definitely respect it. Way more often than you’d think, and certainly more than anyone is ever going to admit to you... 😉

Laura Evans3 said:Next time you get flagged, are you actually going to keep doubling down and being a total jerk toward the moderator who issued the warning, or will you take a moment to reflect on whether you might actually be the one in the wrong?

Not quite; rather, people will simply stop showing up to your thread, leaving you to effectively moderate an empty room all by yourself...

William Green4 said:Not exactly—they'll just stop showing up to your threads, and you'll end up moderating an empty room by yourself...

Honestly, I'm hoping I won't run into you again... 😬 and I think those 35 people were more than enough. 😛

I earned every single one of my bans. Honestly, I haven’t felt the need to complain once. Most of the moderators are pretty decent. 🤷 I just see them as regular users who happen to have the job of cleaning up after us. 😁

Even when I was spamming over in the banned users section, they were fair about it—they didn't pile on extra penalties. 🙂

Thanks, Nex. 😍

Regarding bans in general, my experience tells me one thing: if you behave yourself, you’ll never get hit with one.
Picking fights online or trying to force an issue leads nowhere. Even if you're right, if you lose your cool and lash out, you're getting banned. That's just how it works. In life, too. 🙂