Re: a few questions about moderator actions, please read
I'm going to weigh in as a past mod, fully aware that things have changed somewhat since my stepping down, but also, because I want you all to understand something really important. If you still don't get it after I present the following points, I'll spell it out super clearly at the end of this post.
Point 1. Every moderator is different; we are all hardly clones of each other, nor have we ever been.
Point 2. With those differences come differences of opinion, temperament, ideals, strengths and weaknesses, levels of expertise, perception, etc.
Point 3. No matter how clearly the rules are spelled out, our first goal has always been to ensure as nice and friendly a place as it is possible to secure given that none of the users under our care are perfect, anymore than we are.
In the event that you don't get it after reading all of the above, essentially what I'm saying is the following. WE are all, moderators included, as human as humanity makes us. When religion topics sprung up under my watch, I did my absolute best not to favor Christians, no matter how hard it may have been given my own close tie to Christendom and more importantly, to Christ. It angered some Christians, at least one of which decided to confront me on several counts. On the other side of the coin, there was one instance that I'm aware of in which, while I did my best to remain as unbiased as possible I was eventually taken to task by a user who reported me to the rest of the panel, after which I came forward and did my best to apologize and ask for forgiveness on any count of wrongdoing on my end.
How would Jayde have handled those topics if he had been mod a year or two ago? I dunno. Liam? Again, I dunno. Anyone else who's new? I really, really don't know. I couldn't begin to tell you, thus it really isn't my place to try and tell you.
Here's what I do know; unless things have changed super drastically since I left the panel, I know that sometimes, as much as we may not like it, we have to make decisions based on how we personally feel about particulars. A rule may not precisely be broken, but if we sense that there is an individual who is attempting to see how much they can bend it we're going to react. If the former weren't true and there was no reaction when it might or might not be perceived that rules are being bent, forumites would be shouting for mod heads on silver platters for turning the other way. Truly, it is a hard road on which to balance and walk on at the same time, but someone has to do it if you want a friendly forum.
I've never, ever, ever ever ever been happy about giving a moderation warning, let alone a ban. There are power hungry crazies out there who probably love that sort of control trip or what have you... Get off on it, even. I"m not one of them. I don't generally stick my nose in many controversial topics as of late, so I can't say what things are like now, but reading the full context in this case, I gather that Simter voiced an unpoppular opinion. IN and of itself that isn't an issue. The problem lies in the wording.
And I quote, "Hi. This is my last try to get adleast one part of the community back to right. Why are so many people of you still using skype 7 and giving out copies of it? I fucking hate it. The only thing we get out of it are forks and connectivity problems, anoying notifications for any single little event what seriusly no one needs, a crappy peace of shit called skype api. While there is a great version with no adds, much easyer to use, and the best is no more /fork spam. Because it just no longer exists. So, people, please stop giving out copies of skype 7, because then you may be the next responsible for the next fork."
The beginning in particular is most telling: stop using an old version of a piece of software I hate and I find stupid. If that's not enough, this isn't the first topic on the forum to come up where this particular subject was discussed with the same opinion to no avail and, the general consensus was, to put it bluntly, mind your own freaking business!
It's always important to look at the big picture as a whole. Supposing someone came out here and started spreading misinformation about a program being entirely unsecure but then failed to disclose any reason as to why, or worse, said that it was because of something that is common sense stuff you really shouldn't be doing, I would be twice as offended if a moderator didn't do a bit of research, then take a stand on the matter and simply say that enough's enough!
Example: Why are you using windows! You should use OSX! You have less viruses! You have integration with iOS stuff right off the bat! It's stupid to use windows OS's because when you use OSX you just have a system that works and you don't have to pay anythingn extra to update and upgrade it!
It's easy to abuse any system; in this case, the system is called free speech. With liberty comes responsibility, and those who fail to exercise it diligently will eventually find that they're not going to be looked at or treated nicely. Again, it doesn't mean that you shouldn't disagree, that you shouldn't voice your opinions, but you should know how to conduct yourself on a forum that is doing its best to be friendly. There's a difference between free speech and freedom to say the first thing that comes to your head. If Jade were to come along right now and look at my post and hand me a moderation warning, my first reaction might be something along the lines of, "Piss off ya idiotic retarded bag of... I'm sure you get the point. Why? Because no one takes kindly to a moderation warning, especially if, in the heat of the moment you find yourself blazing hot.
So the question concerning above reaction, given I have free speech, should I be allowed to write that message on a forum who's aim is friendly discussion? Absolutely not... There's nothing friendly about it. Sadly, while I'm doing my best to voice everything in this post as kindly as I can, I am fully aware that there may be at least one person, possibly even a mod, who will find it condescending. Once I hit submit, I'm doing so with the full realization that I may receive a warning and will evaluate so that in future, I do not repeat the same offense whatsoever.
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