Well that's fine then, but a common theme across such questions is that they were closed single-highhandedly by a moderator just a few minutes after it was asked, without attempting to ask for clarification through comments, and without actually giving anyone else who does understand the question a chance to properly answer it.

Personally, I think those two examples are absolutely unclear, specifically the second example. The first example could have been edited and clarified at any point by the author. I would argue that the close reason is a request for clarification. The author of the first example decided to delete their question rather than clarify it.

A moderator not doing anything when they see a question that is unclear or out of scope seems like a bad idea. Having to wait for multiple community members to flag a contribution, before a moderator takes an action, seems like a bad idea. If something is unclear it should be closed, improved, then reopened. The questions used as an example, were not good questions, they were properly closed in my opinion.

I am sorry, if a question is asked it should be answered, but not in the body of a question. I routinely vote to close these questions, and explicitly call out the fact, the question was answered in the question body. I have found asking the author to submit an answer, typically results in the author of the question, responding in such a way that is rude or is not supportive of polite discourse.

I suspect the moderator is becoming aware of these low quality contributions through the flagging system. In fact there isn’t a single one of those contributions where I disagree with the outcome. A moderator does not stop being a community member, once they are elected to become a moderator, this means they should positively contribute to the community. The only thing that changes is their vote is binding, and while I expect a moderator to take that into account, they should not stop being a community member.

Here is a screenshot of Example 1:

Here is a screenshot of Example 2:

Both of those questions are not clear. The first question cannot be answered with the information provided. The author of that question could clarify their question at any point. The second example has one major problem, it absolutely not clear what the author means by "IX", based on my research I can only assume they mean internet exchange point. The author really should have made that point clear. I absolutely agree that those questions were not clear.

Here is a screenshot of Example 3:

Here is a screenshot of Example 4:

Example 3, of course, is a comment and should have never been submitted as an answer. Example 4 is not well received due to the author's tone, I have purposefully omitted the author's name, from the screenshot to avoid drawing attention to that question.

A moderator is still a member of the community. While their vote is binding, they should still be allowed to vote to close questions, they believe are out of scope or are unclear. Community members can reverse their decision by voting to reopen or undelete any question.

Here is a screenshot of Example 5:

Here is a screenshot of Example 6:

Example 5 could be improved and reopened. Example 6 showed no research effort, it is not currently deleted, it could be modified and reopened. Honestly in any of these cases, the close reason is not perfect, but that is the system we have.

I typically vote to close any question, which contains the solution to their problem, as being a question that is already solved. I have found asking the author to submit an answer, typically results in the author of the question, responding in such a way that is rude or is not supportive of polite discourse.

I suspect the moderator is becoming aware of these low quality contributions through the flagging system. In fact there isn’t a single one of those contributions where I disagree with the outcome. A moderator does not stop being a community member, once they are elected to become a moderator, this means they should positively contribute to the community. The only thing that changes is their vote is binding, and while I expect a moderator to take that into account, they should not stop being a community member.

While I have provided an explanation for each and every example, my viewpoint is not going to easily be changed, I do not agree with your conclusion. I do not see the overuse of moderator rights in the examples you provided.

Indeed I am one of those community members that rather delete low quality content then try to improve it. I have very specific reasons for that, if you have ever attempted to get a question answered on Microsoft Answers, you can understand the frustation of trying to read a question and expecting a clear concise detailed answer.

Occassionally I come upon a question which seems rather obvious to me, but was nevertheless closed as either "not focused enough" (example 1) or "unclear what's being asked" (example 2).

Well that's fine then, but a common theme across such questions is that they were closed single-handledly by a moderator just a few minutes after it was asked, without attempting to ask for clarification through comments, and without actually giving anyone else who does understand the question a chance to properly answer it.

Personally, I think those two examples are absolutely unclear, specifically the second example. The first example could have been edited and clarified at any point by the author. I would argue that the close reason is a request for clarification. The author of the first example decided to delete their question rather than clarify it.

I believe that the "unclear" votes only make sense if multiple people cast them – it does not make sense to close off a question to everyone just because one mod fails to understand what's being asked, and I do think that this is becoming a misuse of moderator powers. It is not the job of a moderator to say "if I cannot understand this, then nobody else can either".

A moderator not doing anything when they see a question that is unclear or out of scope seems like a bad idea. Having to wait for multiple community members to flag a contribution seems like a waste of time. If something is unclear it should be closed, improved, then reopened.

Or self-answers where OP explains how they solved their own issue – getting deleted because "they do not provide an answer to the question".

I am sorry, if a question is asked it should be answered, but not in the body of a question.

It's not that I'm writing this post because I disagree with a few specific actions – none of those are my own posts, and I'm not looking for explanations for each and every example. Honestly I don't even care for explanations. Rather, I'm posting this because it feels like the same has been going on for well over a year, and even with my addiction keeping me here, it's really disheartening to see actions from the same moderator that seem to go against the spirit and the word of the rules over and over and over, and I want to get this off my chest.

I suspect the moderator is becoming aware of these low quality contributions. In fact there isn’t a single one of those contributions where I disagree with the outcome.

Occasionally I come upon a question which seems rather obvious to me, but was nevertheless closed as either "not focused enough" (example 1) or "unclear what's being asked" (example 2).

Well that's fine then, but a common theme across such questions is that they were closed single-highhandedly by a moderator just a few minutes after it was asked, without attempting to ask for clarification through comments, and without actually giving anyone else who does understand the question a chance to properly answer it.

Personally, I think those two examples are absolutely unclear, specifically the second example. The first example could have been edited and clarified at any point by the author. I would argue that the close reason is a request for clarification. The author of the first example decided to delete their question rather than clarify it.

I believe that the "unclear" votes only make sense if multiple people cast them – it does not make sense to close off a question to everyone just because one mod fails to understand what's being asked, and I do think that this is becoming a misuse of moderator powers. It is not the job of a moderator to say "if I cannot understand this, then nobody else can either".

A moderator not doing anything when they see a question that is unclear or out of scope seems like a bad idea. Having to wait for multiple community members to flag a contribution, before a moderator takes an action, seems like a bad idea. If something is unclear it should be closed, improved, then reopened. The questions used as an example, were not good questions, they were properly closed in my opinion.

Or self-answers where OP explains how they solved their own issue – getting deleted because "they do not provide an answer to the question".

I am sorry, if a question is asked it should be answered, but not in the body of a question. I routinely vote to close these questions, and explicitly call out the fact, the question was answered in the question body. I have found asking the author to submit an answer, typically results in the author of the question, responding in such a way that is rude or is not supportive of polite discourse.

It's not that I'm writing this post because I disagree with a few specific actions – none of those are my own posts, and I'm not looking for explanations for each and every example. Honestly I don't even care for explanations. Rather, I'm posting this because it feels like the same has been going on for well over a year, and even with my addiction keeping me here, it's really disheartening to see actions from the same moderator that seem to go against the spirit and the word of the rules over and over and over, and I want to get this off my chest.

I suspect the moderator is becoming aware of these low quality contributions through the flagging system. In fact there isn’t a single one of those contributions where I disagree with the outcome. A moderator does not stop being a community member, once they are elected to become a moderator, this means they should positively contribute to the community. The only thing that changes is their vote is binding, and while I expect a moderator to take that into account, they should not stop being a community member.