What is the moderation queue?

The moderation queue can be considered a form of probation. Members who have been placed in the moderation queue will find that nothing they post, from thread posts to status updates, will be visible to anyone else in the community until a moderator manually approves it. We employ the moderation queue as a last-ditch effort to correct habitually errant behavior when we think there's a possibility for improvement and that a permanent ban is premature.

Sound heavy-handed and inconvenient? That's the point. Anybody undergoing this has earned it. We have the right to banish people with a penchant for stirring up or participating in troublesome situations, and that we've chosen to forgo this and provide a final chance to remain was a decision made for the benefit of the person queued rather than ourselves. Nothing is owed to anyone.

Bear in mind that this isn't necessarily permanent, nor is it license to post whatever one desires simply because a moderator must make it visible. Those who post obscene material and continue to flame and fight while in the queue will eventually find themselves banned. It is not worth the trouble of forever cleaning up after a person determined to cause contention. On the other hand, those who demonstrate the type of civil demeanor we expect from members will be removed from the moderation queue. There is no predetermined time frame for that; it remains up to the discretion of the moderation team just as was the decision to place the person in the queue to begin with.