There is a trend on the Forum that I find disturbing yet there is also some truth to it as well. Moderators can not be "just people" for the most part.
Why do I find it disturbing?
Well, because if the Forum was one that had a serious intent or nature then I could see that then we as Moderators would need to be aloof or not have personal opinions about the content or the subject matter. This could be construed as using our position to slant opinions. Since our Forum is one made by a Fan for Fans with fans as Moderators that has made our Forum a bit of a different animal. We didn't all of sudden stop being fans of the shows nor did all of our previously posted opinions just disappear once we became Moderators. Nor do any of our Forum rules apply in such a way that a Moderator can't post their opinion and still enforce the rules. However, there are some that feel that we should no longer hold any opinion or at the very least post them. Secondly, we shouldn't be on any kind of "friendly terms" with the membership and heaven help us if we play or tease with folks.

I personally am one of the more risque of the Moderators, having more fun with word play and innuendo then most. So I probably hear about this more then other Moderators. Its sort of like having your Mom tell an off color joke when your friends are around and you aren't sure if you should laugh...even though it is funny as hell ;-) Then when you get back in your room you have that one friend that says something about your Mom making a bad joke and how it was bad since she is supposed to be a Mom for cryin' out loud. So your "stick in the mud" friend makes you feel bad for thinking your Mom was pretty cool and now you aren't sure what to feel.

There is a feeling of the unknown many folks have across the Forum. They don't really know us Moderators from the days we were just *members* so there is a bit of fear and awe when we post along side them in a thread at first. Then they find out we are decent people and some understand while we will have fun and even get a bit risque we will do our job when the need arises and they respect that. But there is always that handful that will fall into two categories.

One being the ones who decide they no longer have to be respectful and start treating the Moderator with an almost baiting disdain.

Or the second group who gets all self righteous and decides they don't have to be respectful because the Moderator no longer deserves their respect.

To be quite honest, I don't have any time for either group. If their vision is that narrow on a Fan Forum then I can only imagine how narrow it must be in real life. So I find it disturbing that in a place that folks are supposed to be having fun and enjoying various lines of conversation, discussion and debate there are folks that truly believe that those in charge or in authority are supposed to show compassion, fairness, tolerance, ethics, diplomacy but have no actual interaction with the virtual humanity except in a very superficial manner.

The bit of truth I see in it is that some folks truly do try to curry favor by using the Moderators as "buddies". Now not one of the Moderators has been silly enough to actually let even one friend get away with stuff. I do see members trying to use that as a way to get something or someone to do something. I see name-dropping all the time in posts.

I also can see that we as Moderators do try to be more diplomatic then the average person. Because we are the example of "How to have a discussion that doesn't resort to name-calling" (grin). However, contrary to popular belief the Moderators ARE people that have their own opinions about the Show, about politics and about other various subjects and we do get to voice them. We also do and have engaged in debates with each other as well as members that don't compromise our ability to do our job as a rule enforcer.

So my personal take on this is if you have an issue with a Moderator being a bit too fun loving or a bit too opinionated then its actually your issue not theirs. The Moderator will still do their job and if they don't the other Moderators will say something to them. And before some anal person has a moment.... I am not talking about a rule breaking offense here..I am just talking about how you as a person have decided that people in authority *should* act. The fact that we aren't acting to your specifications isn't our problem, its yours.

Something I learned long ago...Be wary of what you place on a pedestal, eventually it will either fall off or jump off.............
and that is some Enlightenment Tame style............ see ya on the flipside ;)

1 Comments:

 Shipperahoy wrote:

8:29 PM     LINK

Well as someone who has definately engaged in the occasional play of words :D I have to agree with you. I don't play on the forum any more as much as I used to, in part because I don't really feel as if I can post as the average joe anymore. It's sad and not right and I don't necessarily feel as though I've been not ABLE to play on the forum anymore but more that it's a personal choice I've made because I feel that people are completely disregarding my opinions on pretty much everything because of their preconceived notions of the role I am in.

This is not to say that I will never play on GW again. I still do, in a more limited capacity, and maybe eventually I'll feel like I can be a part of GW again instead of just some sort of buzzkill netnanny.

Blogs are the author's personal space and represent solely the views of the author, and not necessary those of GateWorld.net and its owner. Entries are not edited or reviewed by GateWorld before publication.