Mien asked rumtscho: You are a regular in the SA chat room. In there we talk about a lot of stuff, even personal stuff. How can you reassure us that a personal conflict with a user, won't affect your moderation? Also, for both candidates, do you think you can notice it yourself if you're being subjective with a specific user? If you notice it, what would you do?
kiamlaluno answered: Yes, I can notice if I am being subjective with a user; in that case, I would let another moderator handle what done from that user. Even in the case I have the feedback from other users who think like me, I would let another moderator handles the user. If there would be a flag about an answer from that user for not being an answer, and I think it is not an answer, I would flag it for that reason.
kiamlaluno continued: In that way, the other moderator would notice there is more than a user who thinks the answer is not an answer.
rumtscho answered: I agree that I have come to consider many of the chat regulars as friends. I hope that I can stay impartial (you probably have noticed in chat that I am mindful of my own behaviour and notice my own biases), and the transparent StackExchange system really helps. We have some hard rules, and I can go by these, even if it means I have to take action against a friend.
rumtscho continued: If there is an especially problematic case, I could always ask a fellow moderator, who is not emotionally involved in the situation, for support. Besides, the way SE works, I couldn't hide questionable behaviour, so even if I should be tempted to do that, I know there is no sense in doing it. Lastly, moderators are not almighty, other moderators and SE employees can revert a moderator's actions. Which means that even if the worst happens and I turn renegade, the site won't suffer.