Entity and Red Dawn have already summed up the majority of my feelings on the matter.
There are certain issues that come with running a forum of this size. There are more users on AT than there are students/staff/faculty at my university (granted, half of the AT users are one-time posters); the majority of these post in OT. To moderate a forum that has such a constant flow of threads, ideas, communication, insults, etc, takes a great deal of time and patience; that being said, quick judgements are sometimes necessary, for the sake of sanity and civility on the forums. IMO, those decisions aren't always correct, but for the amount of those decisions that get made on a daily basis, the ratio is impressive.
The issue of communication with the moderators is frustrating - different moderators are on at different times (I doubt they run shifts), and apparently have different levels of access. That can make communication with a particular mod difficult, especially if that mod doesn't have access to PM's or email, and pointing out a comment or making a case or argument can be near impossible. I have been temporarily banned before, for a relatively minor comment, but I decided to take it in stride and let it go - the mods have enough to worry about as it is without me neffing it up or cluttering their inboxes. If there is a legitimate complaint for a serious punishment (being permabanned), however, I have seen the majority of cases eventually get handled.
Do I sense some sort of a "decline" in the forums in general or in OT specifically? I'm not sure. I've only been here for a year, but I've seen my share of flame fests, nef threads, trolls, etc... but as far as I can tell, that's fairly standard. I don't see as much activity in the non-OT/GH forums as would be desirable, especially when I have some burning question; I cannot say whether those forums have always been so relatively inactive.
Know what? Forget it. I read the thread in OT about the mods being extreme, and the response seems to me to be that it's not going to change no matter what; there will always be seemingly random locks, bans, deletions, with no set rules and no consistency with the mods. So I'll just shut up once again.
Entity summed up most of my thoughts on this subject. There are some clearly defined rules that no one is allowed to break, and there are less clearly defined situations - these are ones that are handled on a case by case basis, I'm assuming, and where more ambiguous or debatable judgement calls are made. And, as I said a few paragraphs up, there are times where a person will get banned with little or no explanation. When that happens, I have found the best response is to have another forum member bring it up over PM with a mod or to email them personally, being polite and respectful throughout said proceedings, of course.
Another thing to keep in mind is that many of the "controversial" decisions are rarely made without some form of recourse - discussions among moderators, and between forum members and moderators. Decisions like that are rarely set in stone, and adjustments and corrections can always be made.
There is a large portion of members here who are fed up with the moderation situation. Having moderators who are able to ban but not able to mail or pm is amazingly thoughtless. I have been banned before, emails did not get responded to, ever. I see people all the time who email the moderators, and they get no replies. I see unfair locks and bans often, yet I see no recourse against the moderators. I have read a response from one of the moderators, basically stating that the mods all communicate with each other and no crazy things are allowed to happen, yet I have seen many and i know many others also have.
Not to be an ass (although I do that often enough regardless), but no one is forcing you to stay here. There are procedures set for a reason; as well, if you're polite and reasonable, most situations will get resolved just fine - in my experience. In this case, it would be helpful (to help me personally and others, I'm sure, make a complete informed opinion) - if you provided examples where this has happened.
What have I learned to do? Well, to be honest, I've never had the feeling that I'm "treading on thin ice" here - maybe I'm just too even tempered, or I post by the same rules I live and communicate by. Either way, while users have pissed me off, the forums still remain the best place for me.
This sums it up for me. I have never felt like there is any undue friction between the moderators and I (well, there's some, just look at my sig,
). This comes from what I feel is partly just my personality - I try to be as level-headed, even-handed and logical in my conduct as I possibly can. I regard this forum as a social environment - one where people meet, have debates, learn, and grow. I act the same here as I do in my other interactions - generally, I give respect and open myself to other opinions and points of view, and I generally get that in return, both from forum members and the moderators.
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