Writing this as a direct result of current events around the site, which have surprised me by the fact that quite a few people don't seem to understand just how the moderation system actually works

Reactive Moderation

H2G2 is reactively moderated, meaning that posts are immediately visible and remain visible unless someone presses the complaints button.

Stage 1 - The Moderators

The moderators themselves are sub-contractors of the BBC, working from home and are not the staff we see around the site with Bold Italics.

If someone presses the complaints button, a moderator is alerted to the situation and reads the single post, out of context, in conjunction with the text written by the person complaining. The moderator will then look at the posting, and, by referring to the House Rules will take one of three possible courses of action available...