I almost put this in the current "censorship" thread, but realized it belongs here.
What happened with the Soapbox is just the most obvious example of how overworked Myr is. With Dan as the only moderator, and having a major shake-up in his life (which is a good thing for him) it left a void. If there is a single forum that must have active moderation to keep it about just a bunch of name calling, it is the Soapbox. I'm not blaming Dan, far from it, I think it just serves as an example that whoever Myr (and those of us who participate in the choice/discussion) decides to give moderating privaledges to, has to be very responsive to complaints about harrasing posts. This doesn't mean that the response has to be one of knee-jerk 'hand wringing' and sending someone to the corner for a time-out. But as emotions get high in places like the soapbox, someone uninvolved needs to take the time to see if there is something going on that needs to be dealt with.
To anyone involved in the discussions, it was obvious that the source of any "bad feelings" (for lack of a better word) was the back and forth between AcePylut and several of our more active members (myself included). IMHO it would have been wrong for any of the members involved in those discussions to invoke moderator status to take action. Thus the need for several moderators of all attitudes when it comes to forums like the Soapbox. I don't think the forums on discussing the authors' work need as much content 'monitoring' as they do structure monitoring; for that, having the monitor be an avid fan and active participant is not a problem, and probably a benefit. The problem is the more general forums like the soapbox.
Umm ... the point Snow Dog ... I think I'm trying to say that all of the monitors should have responibility for forums like the Soapbox and General Discussion so that problems can be handled quickly if necessary and it provides time for monitors to discuss things amongst themselves and yr if necessary before taking action.
Enough from me, go back to what you were doing, nothing to see here ...
:king: Snow Dog the Domaholic Danderthal