I don't know enough to understand why "apologizing to a contributor who had been repeatedly moderated" is bad (or what it even means, really). I think it means

I don't know enough to understand why "apologizing to a contributor who had been repeatedly moderated" is bad (or what it even means, really). I think it means the contributor said something that was not allowed, got moderated, and then "Rod" apologized to the contributor that he was moderated for that. Basically, undermining the moderation philosophy. I'm not sure that's what happened, but it's the only way I can make sense of that statement.