middle-finger emoji […] no visible consequence
As I noted, the post was flagged by the community and hidden very quickly. It had low visibilty and no wider consequences. Most people will not have seen it — until you chose to republish it, without redacting the user details.
context matters and that moderation is a nuanced and difficult task
This is the core of the issue. This all occurred in the context of a specific incident, in a specific time while active discussions with the SC on the policy decision that was ultimately published were ongoing. We obviously couldn’t divulge those details, but the choice of timeline was directly related to the expected policy announcement.
Moderation isn’t only about sanctions and consequences, sometimes — even preferably — it’s about guidance and coaching and encouragement, often behind the scenes.
Yes, that can seem inconsistent to those without the private context. We try to focus our public guidance on expected behaviour, rather than punitive decisions.