Ought moderator delete an answer, merely "because of no supporting references"?

Question

Moderator Carey Gregory deleted my answer "because of no supporting references." .

But see this dialogue, between him and Robert Carnes.

The answers provided are established first principals of medicine and physiology and clinical practice. Both have been firmly established since the late 19th Century. Contemporary medical research publications assume knowledge of these facts and are mot helpful. – Robert Carnes Jun 27, 2021 at 1:22

Looks like my “references” never made into an edited post. For physiology of the eye, the standard first-year medical school text is good enough: Hall and Guyton, “Medical Physiology.” For use of cycloplegics and fundascopic exams of the retina, almost any clinical practice manual, but “Harrisons Principals of Internal Medicine” details the range of diseases and conditions discoverable on fundascopic exam. Beyond that, tapping all this on my iphone is more exhausting than passing over a question for something more critical to life and limb. – Robert Carnes Jun 27, 2021 at 1:45

Otherwhere, Carey Gregory commented that he downvoted "-1 for a complete lack of references."

It's consistent to downvote, but keep, another answer, whilst deleting mine for the same reason of lacking references. Meantime, I shall add references after my holiday.

Answer 1

In the case of your answer, it looks like it was deleted 1 month after posting. In other words, you had 1 month to add references but chose not to. Since our site policy requires references, that is the correct action. Deletion is not necessarily permanent, either; if you add references to your answer in the future you can flag it "In need of moderator intervention" and ask for undeletion.

In the first other case you reference, it looks like the author proposed some references after being asked to add them, so there was no need to delete the question. I do not see how this supports your complaint at all.

In the second other case you reference, this is before Carey was elected as a site moderator. As an ordinary user, a downvote for an answer without references is appropriate. Since you brought the answer to my attention, it still has no references, and I currently have the moderator power to delete answers, I've now deleted it.