How do I dispute a moderator's action?

Question

A moderator closed/migrated/deleted a post, and I disagree with this. How should I proceed in getting this reversed?

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Answer 1

Posting on meta

If a post gets closed/migrated/deleted, write up a meta post for it.

• Link to the post in question
• Explain why the post is on topic for our site
• Explain why you disagree with the comments supporting the closing, if any
• Link to the meta post you just created in the comments on the post in question, if possible.

If the ensuing discussion reaches a consensus that the action should be reversed, then we will reverse it for you.

A few things to remember while participating in such discussions:

• The existence of a tag does not make a post on-topic
• The amount of votes on a question does not make it on-topic
• Closing isn't the end of the world. If a question can be edited to be clearer and on-topic, it can easily be reopened. Closing is meant to be an "on hold" state
• Physics.SE doesn't try to cater to all the types of questions which will be useful to physicists. While some things (like some types of recommendation questions) may be useful, Physics.SE isn't the place for them (however, many of these can be put into tag wikis).
• Questions which are not about physics concepts but would be best answered by physicists are not necessarily on-topic.
• The best meta posts lay out useful guidelines for the future, rather than getting caught up on past cases (which may not be the norm, and may be based on an outdated policy). Keeping this in mind while formulating a meta post goes a long way towards improving our policies.

Don't make it a political issue

Recently, there have been quite a few posts where a user hotly complains about a moderator action, and focuses the post on maligning the moderator in question. Such posts rarely are constructive, and end up getting downvoted and sparking lots of drama. While the core of the post "Should this action have been done?" is a good meta post, the extra baggage hinders the post in getting a good, constructive decision/consensus on the actual closing/deletion.

I guess one thing that folks haven't really thought of is that most mod actions are reversible. Basically, a moderator action is not necessarily the "last word" on the matter. Mod actions are reversible. If a moderator closes a post, he will happily reopen it if there are good enough arguments made on meta. A mod closing is no different from a 5-close-vote closing in this aspect.