Bryan,
While I disagree with some of the points you are making, it's very refreshing to see a moderator posting on this thread that that has actually given some thought to these issues and is able to present those thoughts in a respectful and intelligent manner that is not defensive, offensive or seemingly biased. Bravo!
I would like to point out that I did not mean to imply that any of the mods 'enjoy' banning people, but rather that the current system is open to abuse, and has been abused by the admins on several occasions.
Furthermore, I don't think that calls for transparency are asking for every 'pip' that is handed out should be announced and discussed, but rather that when a very serious action like banning takes place, the reasons should be presented to the members in detail, so that it is 'transparent' that the banned member is not getting the shaft, but has legitmateley and traceably committed sufficient infractions against the forum and its members to merit a ban.
The hobby is the only one I'm aware of to generate such extreme personalities and cliques, many of whom have pulled some pretty horrible stunts over the years, to 'get one up' on their rivals. It is becoming increasingly difficult to differentiate the RPF staff from such a clique or gang, and the comments of one or two mods in this thread have re-inforcedthat viewpoint even more strongly.
While I disagree with some of the points you are making, it's very refreshing to see a moderator posting on this thread that that has actually given some thought to these issues and is able to present those thoughts in a respectful and intelligent manner that is not defensive, offensive or seemingly biased. Bravo!
I would like to point out that I did not mean to imply that any of the mods 'enjoy' banning people, but rather that the current system is open to abuse, and has been abused by the admins on several occasions.
Furthermore, I don't think that calls for transparency are asking for every 'pip' that is handed out should be announced and discussed, but rather that when a very serious action like banning takes place, the reasons should be presented to the members in detail, so that it is 'transparent' that the banned member is not getting the shaft, but has legitmateley and traceably committed sufficient infractions against the forum and its members to merit a ban.
The hobby is the only one I'm aware of to generate such extreme personalities and cliques, many of whom have pulled some pretty horrible stunts over the years, to 'get one up' on their rivals. It is becoming increasingly difficult to differentiate the RPF staff from such a clique or gang, and the comments of one or two mods in this thread have re-inforcedthat viewpoint even more strongly.