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I understand and empathize with you, coolmike. I am going to be blunt here, though, and I want you to know it's not personal -- this is a more general statement regarding these kinds of threads.
I know a lot of people in this thread have attempted to distinguish the differences between your thread and Recon's, and why one thread might have been more or less deserving of a warning than another. The fact is that in every practical sense of looking at these two threads from a rule enforcement perspective, there is no difference. They are both in that gray area and both discussing "adult" topics without being explicit or vulgar.
This, obviously, is not the first time that somebody has noted a moderator inconsistency. There have been many examples far more "inflammatory" than this one, from spam threads created by or participated in by moderators, to flaming by moderators, to somewhat blatant trolling, to other examples. Therefore, your question is a good one and one that's been asked before: how can you get guidance on where that line lies within the gray area when one thread that gets a warning is indistinguishable from another thread created by a moderator?
The answer is: you can't. Stop looking to moderators' posts for "guidance." If you want to completely avoid warnings and bans, stop posting in gray areas. If you want to test the line, follow Skibur's advice and stop caring when you get warned/banned for posts in a gray area.
The fact is that we have never asked you to look to moderators as examples or paragons of what to post. And when you see Forum Ninjas posting less than when they were regular members, it is exactly this kind of scrutiny that causes it. For example, I personally try to steer well clear of gray areas to avoid exactly this kind of issue, which is why I almost never create threads or participate in anything but the most benign discussions anymore. Ironically, as a result, you would get no helpful guidance from my own posting history as to where the "line" is in the gray areas between appropriate and inappropriate.
But Forum Ninjas are members too, and sometimes they want to post in the gray area. Sometimes they feel that they want to be able to participate in this Community whether or not they are scrutinized, but when they post in the gray areas, it most certainly is not a license or "precedent" allowing those threads forevermore.
Any post that approaches the line runs the risk of a warning or ban. I don't see how this could ever possibly be any other way, and you probably wouldn't want it to be any other way. We relaxed the forum rules to allow a bit more leniency in how you post, but this certainly was not a license to post whatever you want. The public forums can be an interesting place for discussion, but if you want to post in gray areas, use a private group. Anybody who has been around here for a while knows or should know to do this. Ask my friends who are in my private groups with me -- I post ten times more in private groups than the public forums, and I talk about all kinds of things.
In the public forums, there is no need to "test the line." There is no need to create Community Forum threads to try to figure out where the line is. There is no need to post in the gray areas. And there is most certainly no need to post about sex in a public forum inhabited mostly by 14- to 17-year-old boys who tend to respond to sex threads with internet memes like "stick it in her pooper" or "surprise buttsecks."
I know that some people are somewhat singlemindedly obsessed with posting about controversial or adult topics in the public forums. And I have heard the insistence of some people that they want to start "intelligent discussions" on mature topics such as religion, politics, and sex in the Flood. And all I can think is, "haven't you ever SEEN the Flood?" It's not going to happen. It will never happen. You are not going to be the one person who is suddenly, after 10 years of completely immature rabble, be able to make the Flood a place where these things can be intelligently and maturely discussed.
Except for a few types of rulebreaking where we have established guidelines, moderators are asked only to be consistent with themselves. For me, I will continue locking any thread in the Flood Forum or elsewhere that contains "adult" topics of discussion. The public forums here are primarily for video game discussion. Anything else that Bungie allows to be discussed here should be reasonable and family-friendly. The standard is not "do I want my 12-year-old daughter to read this." The standard for me is "do I want anybody of ANY AGE to read this." Bungie has repeatedly expressed that it wants its forums to be a place where community members of all ages are welcome, and I try to uphold that with the responsibilities I've been asked to take on.
So with all of that said, I still think your question is a good one. My answer to you may sound harsh but I promise that it is not dismissive; it is true and honest advice that I personally also follow. Stay out of the gray areas and discuss those kinds of subjects in your private groups where it will be far better received and more intelligently discussed.
Moderator inconsistency in the gray areas of posting is nearly impossible to avoid. Instead of trying to get the moderators to perform an impossible feat, perhaps the easier solution is to change the way you post.
[Edited on 10.25.2011 9:39 AM PDT]