Mark, I am sorry this is such a public thing. You Did keep my name out of your original post. That resulted in considerable confusion and consternation on the part of everyone here who knows, respects, and loves you. So I tried to explain what had happened.
I think now that may not have been such a good idea.
If I had it to do over again, I probably would have worked a lot harder on wording by email to you. As it was, I thought I went out of my way to explain that all I was asking you to do was consider my thoughts. Any action was (and is still) completely up to you.
Everyone, many many times I have found the best moderating can be accomplished behind the scenes. Moderation is not only Locking, or moving threads. It is trying to find the best balance of content and behavior that allow the community to communicate effectively.
Most of the time I can do nothing to steer arguments. They have a life of their own. Sometimes I post. When given the option to move a thread to a better place, I move it. This happens most of the time with threads which are not contentious. When there seems to be no further good purpose to a thread, I will Consider locking it, but only as a last resort. And sometimes I use email to communicate.
I have generally found that to be a very effective medium most of the time. I have made many friends via email who were originally either annoyed, or upset with me. Curiously, I have Never recieved hostile email. I am amazed that the only email I have received in the last twenty-four hours about this whole thing was one from Mark, and one from Spark, who was responding to the email Mark wrote back to me that he forwarded to Spark.
I frequently email forum members when I see a potential problem with there posts. Sometimes that is a better way to accomplish something without creating a public disturbance. I did this even BEFORE I became a moderator, and I know that many of you have done similar things.
Early last year, I wrote to a certain forum member who used Every smiley in the book to close one word posts that were usually something like: HEY! I found it very annoying. He did not stop, but I tried to get him to think. Didn't work. But that's not my fault.
Many months ago, Comrade Chang was using a rather large image of his version of a flag. It caused serious bandwidth problems because the university computer he hosted his image on was frequently down. That prevents threads from loading quickly. I emailed him about it, and he reduced the size of his flag and moved it to a more stable server. Problem solved. Chang and I are friends. I have no issues with him, nor I hope, does he with me. Currently, he and a lot of other people are using a Bush/Cheney flag. I don't like those either. But they are timely. And I understand why folks want to use them. So fine, I have not raised the issue at all. I assume this is a temporary phenomenom and will fade with time.
So, I have been doing this sort of thing for a long time. If being a moderator means I can not speak my mind, either publically, or via private communication, without being accused of improper use of authority, I do not know that I can be effective. I know that what I say is sometimes viewed more seriously, or as representing the policies of BFC. That is not always true. I do not speak for BFC. I represent Myself. I try to make the forum Work. That involves playing (like everyone else), teaching, learning, persuading, and occasionally, moderating. Moderating is much more than just being a prison guard and locking threads.
I am trying to do a good job. I am sorry I tried to hard this time around. I did not mean to come across as anti-Christian. I am not. I did not mean for this to be a public matter. But it is. So be it. I simply ask that folks read my words carefully. I try to be precise with my language, and try to convery my intent without creating undo confusion. I do not always succeed
God bless you all. May peace be with you and yours. God is with you always, and Forever.
Paracelsus, praying
