As Reagan once quipped, " I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, [your] youth and inexperience.
Great question! To be honest it made me nervous that if Crandc were to come back to S2 and stumble on to this thread that ABM's comment in reply to what I originally wrote would hurt or upset her. Crandc left for specific reasons and I decided to share them with the forum but I didn't share them so that she would become (no matter how innocently ABM meant it) the butt of jokes. 99% of the time I try not to outright delete posts. I only try to delete or most often edit the insulting parts of posts. In this instance I could see no edit that could be made so I deleted it and immediately PM'd ABM telling that I deleted it and why. It was a total judgement call on my part and I'll be the first to agree that my judgement is often wrong. As far as me saying viscous things to people, yes I'm guilty. Just last night in a failed attempt to be funny I posted something derogatory about the Muslim religion. When it was brought to my attention I changed it. As far as people being mercilessly attacked that gets really tough here at times. When I was elected a mod one of the few rules I was told to enforce was No Personal Insults. If I see someone post, "you are such a fucking idiot" I change it to "SlyPokerDog is a fucking idiot" because in the past when I've seen past mods just delete a post or scold someone for posting that it turns into an even more intense argument between people. My changing the insult to "SlyPokerDog" is just my way of reminding someone to leave out the personal insults. There are what some could consider personal insults on here all the time that I don't edit. "Your liberal beliefs are going to leave you poor and sucking off the tit of the government for the rest of your life." Hey, it's an insult but it leads to more of an argument of beliefs vs post after post of people insulting each other. Also, I don't read every thread every time I log in to S2. I miss stuff. I miss insults. I miss arguments. It's great that you call foul on me. I'm not perfect, I make mistakes, but I honestly try to be as fair as I can. I try to make this forum as fun, fair and friendly and by calling me out on things that I do is how I learn what to do and not to do in the future.
Sly, whether I disagree or not, that was a very excellent response. You are a gentleman- and that'll be our secret.
You're the butt of many a sick joke, alright. And, yeah, Sly is OK in my book too. I just have always enjoyed the irreverence of S2 and like to crack wise at times but don't like censorship unless really warranted.
Since Sly decided to bare his moderating soul to everyone, I guess I'll look heartless if I don't do so as well... I think that there's a pretty good recognition by everyone of the things that are allowed to be posted and those that aren't. I (for one) have had very few problems with people who've had posts edited, deleted, whatever--b/c I've pm'd them and explained it and given them a chance to tell me why I'm jacked up. This place is a little more R-rated than the rest of the site, but personally I feel that the ability to be one's self in here makes this community a community. I don't drop f-bombs in public that often and might be the last person in here who hasn't slept with HCP's wife, but that doesn't mean that I can't look past those things to the point of what posters are attempting to discuss. And in a way, I think the greatness of this forum is that we've come to know each other well enough to have our own language and mores, FAMS. My principle is that I don't want the cart upset. I'm a little less sensitive to personal insults, but more sensitive to the tensions getting ratcheted up and dragging us all down. I agree with Sly's deletion of ABM's post earlier, b/c while crandc may not be posting as much anymore, she's a valued member of the community and I think of her like the aunt that moved away and hopefully will come back for Thanksgiving with some stories (and baked goods). I think that that joke (while not ban-worthy or anything), crossed the line that would have lowered the harmony in the community and should've been edited or deleted, with an explanation sent via PM. More than anything, I think that Sly and I attempt to be as open as possible in our heavyhanded moderation efforts. There's a need for civility, but also for expression, and that includes calling us out if you think we're treading on you. If for some reason you think that your needs are being met here, let me know. You may not get exactly what you want, but you'll get an explanation for whatever we do.
I liked yours better because I was ripping you. Brian's seemed a bit melodramatic. I mean, he's a great poster and all that, but yours had that "I'm a joker being serious for just a moment" feel to it that was refreshing. His seemed like a "I see Sly is baring his soul so I'll have a few beers and do the same" take. It was ok, but poor timing.
Brian's a relatively new mod, isn't he? Perhaps, he was just adding to the mix - striking while the iron was hot. You know, a proverbial Rick Perry of S2.
Brian has been a mod for years.... at least a year longer than Sly. Brian and I both joined the mod corp at the same time.
