Mods have never responded to me. I quit even trying a long time ago. Before I can even imagine them having a reason not to like me. Given the number of posts asking why the mods aren't answering or why a subscriber isn't getting any response, I don't even think it's me, though I do get the distinct impression that they hate me. Just a few months ago I PMed the mods to mention a sig that was actually quite offensive and got no response, and the sig didn't change.
I don't understand, at all, why it's considered petty for me to mention someone with a word in their name or sig that could be considered offensive (rationalizing how it's a real word that has a non-offensive meaning aside), yet other people get cheered on for posting requests to ban people for swearing or just being rude or posting something they don't agree with. I don't understand why action gets taken for one minor comment that might be non-PC, but other more blatantly offensive stuff is allowed. Just because some of you don't consider bitch a bad word doesn't mean it's not, given the crusade against anything that might get the site in trouble or offend anyone, and I don't understand why I get beaten over the head for mentioning it.
I admit, I'm a negative person. I don't post all cheery and light in Forum Issues praising Zuni's coding skills and the ability of the mods to maintain order. If I see something that doesn't seem right to me, I ask. You guys consider it whining. Maybe you've noticed that when I do ask, I'm often asking the same damn thing I've asked before. Now you're thinking "yeah, don't keep posting the same things". Well maybe if I got an answer once in a while, rather than being flamed for two days straight, I'd stop asking the same questions. Overall, it seems like I just can't get responses to anything that can't be given a pat answer. Anything that would require an explanation of why the forums work in a certain way, or why the mods do certain things, I get brushed off, ignored, posts locked, but not until plenty of people have had a go at belittling my opinion. Sure I may seem to harp on an issue for awhile, but that's because I never feel like I've been answered to any degree. Half the time I don't even get a response other than flames and an occasional agreement, and it doesn't even help that more people than just me would like an answer.
DivideBYZero: apparently you can't recognize irony. (I'll prepare for someone to explain the exact definition of irony and why it doesn't REALLY apply here, just so they can say something else against me.) I'll get flamed or even banned for my comments, but other stuff is allowed.
jliechty: When I have attempted to ask questions, I've tried to be polite. I only get bitchy like this after I've been knocked about a few times in the rush to ignore me or rebuff me. And as I mentioned, you consider it whining, I consider it trying to get an answer to a question and being ignored. The preferential treatment people get, and the sycophantic worship of the mods and Zuni and Anand is just sickening sometimes. Not everyone has to see only the good stuff, someone has to point out when change is needed. Even if I just ask a simple question I don't get an answer, and if I ask again, I'm whining.
And of course, one thing you mention is the varying moderation. Something I've asked about on my occasions and only gotten USERS responding to praising the moderators for being able to handle the job (and a few agreeing to some degree that it could be better); never a response from anyone in charge as to why it's so variable, why the mods seem to be bipolar at times, why one mod lets something slip by but another mod will lock it immediately, et cetera. If the reason is just "because we like for the users not to have any idea whether they're going to cross the line depending on which mod is on duty and if they're in a bad mood" fine, but nobody will even tell me that. So I "whine" about it once in a while.
Mill: people can certainly disagree with me. Your first post in the thread wasn't disagreeing, it was being rude to me for having an opinion. I don't even care that it was rude, except that it implies my opinion wasn't of any worth. Would my not using the word "tattle" have made the post entirely different? Would it not have been tattling then? What other way could I have phrased the post so that it was just reporting something semi-offensive instead of tattling? Does the view that I was tattling make the things I was tattling about any less valid? Assuming one considered them valid at all.