Mods only moderate what is reported?

We moderate what is reported, and what we individually see during normal board usage (including when checking out a thread with reported content on it for a more complete view of the situation). We can't reasonably moderate things we don't see and, as these boards are rather large and this is a volunteer position, making moderators scan every thread for unreported content is simply not feasible.

That's not entirely true. We almost always check posts around reported content to make sure there isn't a larger problem, like bickering. We also look into threads that look like they might be a problem.

It would be more fair to say we don't have a "blacklist" where we follow posters around looking for things to moderate. As for the things we miss, we're volunteers with meaningful limits to the time we can spend moderating the boards. That's why we so strongly suggest people report things they find problematic - that's the surest way to bring it to our attention for review.

mods only react when permabans are possible,