Quote:
Originally Posted by Fjordmonkey
So far I haven't gotten any infractions. Maybe that's down to HOW I word my posts (some have been less than polite..) than down to what I actually say in them.
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That's pretty much the bottom line. The more people talk instead of venting and raging, the less infractions and bans we will have on the forum.
Example 1:
"Hey, i found this and this bug, i did this and that test and here's what i found. I believe it's important to fix this for reasons A, B and C."
"My opinion on this matter is..." (insert opinion, either liking or disliking something).
Example 2:
"Omg, is this a joke? Were they drinking vodka again? I hope (insert different flight sim publisher) buys this and gets it fixed!"
"How can you say that (insert other user's opinion)? This is so (proceed with namecalling and insults)"
"This is my opinion and i'm going to convince you about it, whether you like it or not"
There are both "whiners" and "fanboys" who are guilty of this behaviour.
These examples are usually followed by "my freedom of speech" tirades by the same people that make sure nobody else can discuss anything, without having their threads derailed and drifting to the same subjects every single time. That is, THEY violate the freedom of speech of users who want to discuss other matters on the forum.
Everything under example 1 is what's considered perfectly acceptable situations.
Everything under example 2 is what gets recommendations to change the tone. Then if that fails repeatedly, the banstick starts swinging.
Frankly, i prefer to talk to people, explain things to them and make them see a reason to change. Not their opinions, but their manners and how they express these opinions (respectfully instead of rudely).
However, that is not doable with repeat offenders because they view this as a weakness on my part and try to exploit it to keep doing what they like doing at the expense of every other forum user.
In that case i skip straight to handing out infractions. I have limited time, lot's of threads to moderate and i'm not getting paid for this. So, i'd rather spend my time talking to people that have a chance of changing their attitudes in a way that benefits the forum, instead of trying to sweet-talk someone i know will not think twice before ignoring me and doing the same thing as soon as i turn my attention elsewhere.
A perfect example of this is how i will handle this thread.
I gave you a suitable answer and i won't give you an infraction despite the appearance that you have an axe to grind with the mods, because my job is not to play God.
My job is to make sure we can have questions and answers here and exchange opinions. And i answered you, despite the fact that i firmly believe you have an axe to grind.
Why? Because maybe i could be wrong and misunderstood you, or maybe English is not your first language (it's not mine either) and you weren't clear enough.
This is called giving the benefit of doubt to someone and this is what i want to convey to the forum users. If everyone here did this, we would have no infractions and no bans.
However, i will still lock this thread because it breaks the forum rules and if i don't, it will be unfair to other people who have had their threads locked for less.
So, the trick to being a mod is to be fair. Not only when it's liked, but also when it's disliked.
I'm sure there are people right now that will be upset with me for closing this thread, as well as people who will be upset with me for giving you an answer before closing it instead of giving you an infraction.
Believe it or not, i get a lot of PMs from people who think we are too soft, asking us to be stricter and ban more users 
EDIT:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Feathered_IV
It's now a race to see if any one of the other moderators can put a lock on this thread before Blackdog can finish his fourteen paragraphs.
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Hahahaha brilliant and you're right on the money