Thank you for this input.
Allow me me start by saying we don't generally edit the text of posts to explain meaning, which is what your linked Commons article deals with. We wouldn't necessarily make an assumption as to what a member might mean or intend. We will change titles if they're not descriptive enough per rule 4.
We have in the region of 80 moderators, all of them volunteers. We are always striving for consistency of approach. Generally speaking I think in terms of this specific issue, and covering it more broadly, we get it right by one of two means.
The first is that a mod may edit a post to remove language that breaches our rules. An example would be:
NWIFlyer, you're an idiot who knows nothing about aviation. Go back and research.
Now clearly this is a personal attack and so a breach of Rule 12. Editing a post takes time (even more so if subsequent quotes need to be changed as well). Time is something we're all short of, so I wouldn't expect a mod to put a bracketed note in the post. Here we put an explanation in the reason for edit box which I think provides a much better reason as to what has happened, e.g. "To comply with Rule 12".
The second is that there may be a single word that needs to be removed. There are two ways we can do this - either in a bracket "[mod: expletive redacted]" or by removing the word completely and adding the edit note. This often depends on how best to retain the context of the whole post, and is a judgment call. I'm comfortable with either option, so long as the message is understood.
There will be other less frequent examples where an edit is necessary - perhaps on a copyright breach where too much of the original article has been copied. Here, I'd expect removal and an edit note in the reason box.
Do we get this right every time, across all 80 mods? No, of course not. But, just as we treat all of you as individuals, so do I with all of my team. I don't think it's appropriate to impose a rule on my volunteers which could be used as a stick to beat them with - their role is difficult enough as it is. What we strive to do is develop mods, training and standard processes to improve the site.
I will ask those of my mods who've acted as trainers as to how they think we can achieve consistent messaging. Thank you again for giving us the prompt to think about this.
NWIFlyer
Community Director