Recent threads have once again called the moderators' judgment into question. I realize that I can't expect universal approval of how the mods run the boards. But it does concern me that, in spite of the clarifications of our mod policy that have been made recently, many members are still upset. People like PBMax and haohmaru don't post here much anymore, but I sympathize with their vision of how TNL's forums should operate and consider them key members of our constituency. I strongly believe that TNL is the best gaming forum on the Internet, with some of the best, most varied, most intelligent, and most knowledgeable members anywhere, and that our mod policy should reflect a desire to keep it that way.
I also believe just as strongly that the mods are not responsible for people's feelings. Discussion at TNL should be free, fun, passionate and even controversial. If this means that a member gets his balls broken every now and again, so be it. The hardest part of this job is knowing where the line between intelligent, adult conversation and gratuitous, worthless abuse, and when it has been broken. Not only that, but knowing also when continuous breaches of that line demand appropriate action such as warnings and bannings.
I can't speak for the rest of the moderators, or for TNL as a whole. But I can offer a little insight into how I do my job so the community will know where I stand on certain issues, members, and the like. In this post I'm going to speak frankly about several members who have been identified as "problem" members, explain why they have or have not received bans, and then discuss some more general matters of concern that have recently come up. To those of you whom I mention by name in this post, please bear in mind that this is how I think of you as a moderator, not as a person. I'd gladly have a beer (or a soda) with anyone at TNL, but sometimes a member just needs to go away for a while.
Sl1p: Funny guy, a core member of the boards, but over the past few weeks his posts have degenerated into complete worthlessness. Even when he started that 3S thread he couldn't stop the verbal abuse. When someone starts a Nintendo thread it's reasonable to expect a few detractors to enter the discussion, but Sl1p made it way too personal far too many times. He reached a point where he offered nothing of merit to the boards, so he got the boot for a month. When he returns, he will be on "permaban probation": one more infraction and he goes away for good.
diffusionx: In many ways diff epitomizes the ideal TNL member, at least in my mind: fiercely intelligent, passionate about games, viciously funny, and catalyst for interesting discussion not just in GD, but the OT forums as well. Recently he has been slipping into Sl1p territory: witness his behavior in the K3V's NUON thread, in which he offered nothing of value and sidetracked an informative if niche thread. Diff still offers plenty of good discussion in the other forums (jabs at IronPlant's spelling notwithstanding), but I have my eye on him.
Yoshi: He has the passion, but offers little in the way of constructive discussion in any of the boards apart from tired one-liners and a supercilious attitude. This disappoints me, because he is obviously an intelligent person. I can only assume that he doesn't care about meaningful discussion enough to engage in it. He has admitted to gay-baiting, something I find unacceptable and grounds for a ban. He is an asset to the online gaming board and does provide useful information from time to time, and I would hate to see him take a leave of absence.
MVS: He recently came off a forced vacation of his own. Matt, like Yoshi, is smart and knowledgeable but comes across as a little too juvenile sometimes. He seems to be rooted in some terrible SoCal existential hell which seeps into every post he makes. This rubs people the wrong way, but personally I don't see much reason to ban him. He keeps his posts short and to the point.
Trading Board: Many of you, particularly diffx, are angry that we do not ban alleged scammers (at least not immediately). Other mods feel differently on this, but I think the Trading Board is a self-policing entity: if you screw someone, people report you and word gets around fast here. I don't really think we need to get embroiled in the he-said, she-said complications of trading board transactions. On whose word are we supposed to ban someone? What if there was a genuine misunderstanding, or a mailing mishap, or some catastrophic occurrence that made the transaction impossible to complete? We're not really equipped to punish people when a transaction goes wrong; we're just a bunch of volunteers who don't have time to get both sides of the story, investigate all the details, give due process to both parties, etc. etc. etc. Because we lack the infrastructure to formally police the Trading Board, I just don't think an immediate permaban is a proper remedy.
As always, if you have questions on a particular issue just ask, or if other mods want to jump in here, feel free.
