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Members -- Are you willing to:
1. Realize that the mods as a whole mean well for the forum.
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2. Realize that the mods are also human and just as capable of mistakes.
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3. Be forgiving when a moderator does something wrong (but not outrageous), as the moderators will be equally forgiving when a member does something wrong (but not outrageous).
We do mean well. I can say I definitely believe that 99.9% (or probably more) of moderator actions thus far were taken with the wellbeing of the forum in mind. Maybe we have occassionally let something cloud our judgement so that the less than ideal action was taken, and that's something that can be worked on, but whatever was done was with the forum in mind. And as Roquivo as said, if a moderator does something you are concerned about, let them know. Perhaps it's simply a case of there being something they weren't aware of, and they will be likely to reverse a course of action if it was a legitimate concern and they have the right information available to them.
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4. Realize that the moderators are trying very hard to provide a good posting environment for all the users of this board to post in. Likewise, if they are constantly told they're doing badly, that's going to hurt them like it would any other person.
We've seen that already, in this thread. None of us have a will of steel. I'm always encouraged to see ways in which we could make the forum better but don't point out every little thing that annoys you about one or more moderators activity in the public forum. That is, if you have a concern, let the moderators know directly through PM. Just the same, we will not get on your case about every little thing either, and if there's something that's a recurring problem, we will be likely to keep it to PM's, because, quite frankly, if you're doing something other members don't appreciate, they will let you know as well.
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5. Be willing to take care of your own posts, as the job of keeping order does not rest solely on the staff. This includes taking your personal issues to a private means should you feel the need to argue about something in a way that would be breaking a forum rule. Keep in mind that that harrassment through PM is just as bad, if not worse, as harrassment in a thread or post.
Yes, I would expect that people try to iron out their personal issues via PM. If these are issues that cannot be resolved by PM alone, I hope that either you step away from the situation and ignore the other member, take the issue outside the forum, or come to a moderator for help. All different approaches to the situation, and all equally valid. Whatever you're comfortable with.
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6. Be willing to bring up a concern in a mature and polite way, instead of throwing insults or otherwise acting inappropriately.
Very simple. If you have a differing opinion or have a concern about what somebody's doing, tell them "maturely and politely" will be far more likely to actually work than inflaming the situation.
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7. Be willing to not hold grudges either, as the moderators will be returning the favor.
That's true. We might not necessarily hold a grudge against you because you hold a grudge against me, but it makes it difficult to do our job or communicate on a member to member level.
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8. Be willing to give the staff the same respect you yourself would expect to be given.
I respect you (I really do, all of you) and would expect a minimum level of respect in return.
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9. Be willing to use that decent chance to resolve your issues with someone before a thread is closed.
Yes, do your fellow members a favor and if you find yourself getting into a heated situation with another member in a thread, take a deep breath and try to resolve it in a friendly manner. If it comes down to saying, "Let's agree to disagree, or at least not have this argument further. I don't want this thread to be closed." then say it. You will command more respect for just calming down and not giving in to making personal attacks or feeling like your personal reputation will be shattered if you do not defend yourself against every point somebody else is making.
Honestly, I can't think of anything else to add. I've seen some people respond to individual points in pnt's post, but what do we think about it as a whole? I am 100% behind it. Moderators, I hope you'll consider my views on these points.