Moderation has been ineffective, unreasonable, and inconsistent

Despite overzealous 10-day and permanent bans for what most people would consider extremely minor infractions (if even), the quality of discourse on the forums continues to be extremely poor. Most threads are full of snarky replies and name-calling and extremely little constructive discussion. Honest opinions and suggestions continue to be met with one-liners designed to garner the most "likes", rather than any semblance of thoughtful debate. Meanwhile, paying customers are being locked out of the forums just because other customers don't like their opinion and report them for it.

Furthermore, players are left uncertain of what constitutes a bannable offense because moderation is not done in a consistent and visible manner. The same exact kind of post that gets someone banned in some cases can be seen all over the forums left completely unmoderated. How do you expect players to know their post is unacceptable when they see the same kind of posting in other threads all the time with no sign that it was inappropriate in the first place?

I would strongly urge SE to reset the existing permanent bans and re-evaluate their moderation strategy and guidelines to more adequately address the real issues. More visible moderation (moderator replies/thread locks) rather than inconsistent random banning and unexplained thread deletions would go a long way in creating some sense of structure.

im confused why someone needs clearer rules on moderation. I've never been banned from a forum ever. My secret is "dont post something that could possibly get me banned". I know game forums turn into mosh pits of idiocy. If I was the type of person to join in the mosh pit, I couldnt really be surprised if I got a ban on occasion. I will give anyone a shiny nickel if they can show me a "constructive, reasonable post" that got them banned.