Please Resist The Urge For Vigilante Modding! Options

[Mata]

Over the last couple of months it's happened a few times that people have decided to wage their own campaigns for what they think is right or wrong for the forums.

I don't want to write a long lecture about this, so I'll keep this simple:

1 If a post has clearly broken the rules of the forum then please report it to the moderating team

2 If you suspect that a post or a user is bending the rules of the forum then PM a moderator or me

3 If you are outraged by a whole series of posts by different people who all apparently have no trouble with the behaviour of the others then DO NOT decide the that moderating team is obviously blind/stupid and that only you can save the forums from the diseased posting style.

If you should happen to find yourself in the latter situation then I suggest one of three options (in the following order):

1 ignore it. If you don't enjoy that conversation then don't click on the thread. At the time of writing this there's somewhere around eight or nine thousand threads on this board. I'm sure you can find one that you would prefer to discuss

2 politely PM a mod to make sure that we are aware of what you perceive to be a problem

3 maintaining at all times respect and civility, explain in the thread why you feel that the recent activity is inappropriate

With the exception of occasional one-off posts by members out of the blue that are clearly breaking the rules, in the majority of circumstances the mod team will be aware of the situation and keeping an eye on it.

These forums are mainly self-regulating: if a user oversteps the boundaries of decency another member will usually mention this in a friendly manner and we all continue to get along happily. The mod team is here for when this is not working, but it is worth noting that if the weight of community opinion is against you then you may indeed be wrong.

Do not go on vigilante modding quests. The other people on the forums usually self-regulate very politely all by themselves, and the mod team is here for when this doesn't work. All that happens is that we end up having to warn two people for getting into an argument rather than one. I don't like warning people who have good intentions, but there is a hierarchy here so that decisions can be made by a group of people that I trust.

Bear in mind that these forums are a benevolent dictatorship. I run this place, and eventually what I say goes. I will happily listen to every side and usually offer a few more of my own, but in the end the choice is mine. If in doubt then ask the mods to act, if they are in doubt then they will ask me. We're here to support you, but we will act against those who cause arguments by trying to impose their own views on how discussions should proceed.

One last thing: this thread is not aimed at anyone in particular and has not been prompted by any one thread either. I can think of quite a few people who have acted in this way in the past. For the sake of making the mod team's job and my job easier please do not try to take on modding duties. The guidelines above are pretty easy to follow I think, and they will probably never even be needed by most people on here, but I thought it would be useful to put this up as a reminder.

[believe]

I want to be a priest, except for that whole catholic bit. They get the spiffy outfits and neat chances to serve God.

/spam