AVG I didn't mean to imply that you personally did this. I apologize if I gave you that impression.

You can't and shouldn't ignore moderator posts.

Actually I have met a few people from this forum in person having them as welcome guests in my home.

I'm not trying to take their fun away. I just want them to play in "civvies" like everyone else.

That's usually my first thought but it rarely bears out that way.

No, you did not give me that impression. I try not to take things personally. I try not be a bean head either. If I'm having a vindictive kind of day I stay off the forums. I know things can escalate when I'm having one of those day. :oops:

I can see it now, you get into a heated debate, a mod of the forum joins in the fun in his civvies, but the thread gets out of control, so the mod changes into his uniform, comes back and says tone it down. You will now scream he's being unfair changing clothes or that he's two faced and causing you to argue, then punishing you wearing his badge.

I honestly think what you want is for the mods here to have one roll only, enforce rules only, otherwise stay out? Maybe you just don't like someone having opinions that don't match yours and he just happens to be a mod.

Anyway, I'm done......:salute:

You know where I can find this perfect group of 100% neutral, unbiased, and objective persons? :arrgh!:

Any forum is going to need moderators. Moderators have faults and shortcomings, just the same as everyone else, including me. The thing I look for in moderators is the ability to work with me, be flexible, consistent, and not fall into an entrenched mindset. You know you have a good moderator when, as the rare occasion warrants, I have to overrule or reverse something he has done, and he accepts the outcome with a professional attitude.

One of the moderator guidelines here is if you are engaged in a thread discussion, you cannot moderate in it. Of course, if I post in a thread and say, "Yeah, I like that game too" and a few pages later someone posts a porn pic, that does not apply. But if you want to be part of a heated discussion, you cannot moderate at the same time.

It's also important to understand that in the final wash, someone has to make a ruling when there is a dispute. We try to do the best we can, with a clear conscience, but no one ever claimed to be right all the time. Someone will be happy with a decision, someone may be unhappy with it, but we all just have to suck it up and go forward. When people get butthurt about something, I can't really do much about that. Just try to behave like you would if the other members were in a room with you, ok?

Well, to be fair if the thread is about a subject you're interested in then it's kind of hard not to read it.

I appreciate your candor. I do wish you'd say something, publically or privately, when it happens. I don't like being that way, and I don't like having certain people think that way about me. I try to change, I really do. I'm just not very good at it.

Try Fox News......

Haha, you know I'm pulling your string, stop trying to act like you know I'm not. In fact, you're quite charming, is a selfish rude sort of way, but that's why I admire you so much.

You're a great mod, with all your human failings. Don't get me wrong, you'll never be loving as AVG, but I know you can't help it. This place wouldn't be the same without you.

OK, now I'm done.....

With me it should be easy. I'm a very literal and literalistic person. Whatever I say opinion-wise will always be just that - my opinion. Moderation involves rules, and I will always cite the rule in question. Unless the violation is flagrant I will always send a PM citing the rule and an 'unofficial' warning. If it is flagrant there will be the usual official warning or an actual infraction. If you disagree with the infraction you can feel free to argue with me about it privately. I've changed my mind on that basis alone more than once. Of course you can also PM Neal about it, and if you don't get a response right away you can PM me again and I will bring it up with him. I'm not always fair but I try to be.

And yes, I will screw up and not do it that way. When I do, feel free to remind me that I said that.

So anything I say in the forum you can feel free to ignore as you wish. There won't be anything official there, ever, unless it's a general warning to everyone in a thread.

My $0.02-

Mods are human beings. They have emotions and failings the same as everyone else. Expecting complete and utter impartiality in all things is unrealistic. Conflicts and disagreements, some more heated than others, are going to happen.

But where I think our moderators shine is that they are good as separating personal and professional sides and they enforce the rules fairly and evenly. For instance, you always know when Takeda is putting on his moderator hat because the post is signed "The Management." That's a bright line rule that leaves no room for confusion on whether he's speaking as a mod or a member. I don't see the need for two accounts.

I think our mods do a great job in an unenviable position. :subsim: moderators

Actually, um... :oops:

As I just said, I'm a very literal person. I also happen to suspect sometimes that every bad thing everyone has ever said about me has been true. So yeah, I believed you. :sunny:

Group hug! :hmm2:

GAY AGENDA!:woot:

Hardly, compared to some of the posts in this thread. :03: