One thing we could do is lock the report button if the post was already reported. I have a feeling that the amount of reports on a post is at least subconsciously influencing a mod's decision.

Thats much more than a feeling, my friend.

If a comment gets reported by a lot of people, chances are that it is offensive or breaking rules and mod actions are indeed required.

or it simply riled up the crib...

Because the comment was offensive. Moderators aren't going to ban you if your comment isn't offensive or break the rules at all.

"Offensive".

Funny that you're the one questioning all this.

Even that definition makes it clear that being offensive is not dependant solely (or at all) on the message, but on the person receiving it. You could even say is a relation between sender-message-receiver but even there is on the receiver to interpret it as "offensive". And everything could be considered "offensive". Even the silliest mildest jokes. Here is a great example that blew up on Youtube last year: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0spnybFHIM

Nice bait, but I don't see the necessity of re-directing the disscussion towards me even if I was the most oversensitive crybaby in the forums. What I'm questioning is still important for those who are moderated for the silliest of things. If you go to my original post I said that "We want it[free-speech] to cut unimpeded, but don't like it when it's coming our way". I was purposedly including myself.

But it seems you got something on me, don't get me wrong I don't really care what it is but I'm VERY VERY interested on how you got it. After all, you are not a mod, not even ambasador and neither you seem to hold any particular position on the site. Now, I would like to think that you know nothing and you just wanted me to fall into a psychological trap so that I accidentaly confess a particular incident (which you could had just asked as I already accepted fault last paragraph). But that said, I want the mod team to know that any private message I may had send them and any posible complaint I may had filed, I did expecting full anonimity. I don't want to think this information is easily available up there and if it is, then It would be great if they let me know.

I'm wondering how people even get moderated in the first place. I've been on here since 2013 and never even received a warning, despite some outspoken political beliefs, and I may have gone into arguments with some users over games in the past. Maybe it's because I engage in conversations differently than others, or maybe the mods just have a soft spot for me 😊.