[WideRight05]

Rockmom and True...whatever (BlueAndGold? I don't remember the full name) are the worst offenders on BGP. If you are a conservative and challenge them, they will eventually find a minor, debatable rules infraction and then suspend you. Not only that, theGuru will support them if you complain because of the amount of free labor they provide.

Most of the moderators on BGP do a very good job but the one that you mentioned and Rockmom are two liberals who have very thin skins. They will try to provoke you into criticizing them by criticizing you. Then they will abuse their authority as moderators and suspend you when you respond in kind.

I agree with your point. The BGP moderators should not allow their own personal political opinions affect the fair treatment of all of the participants. If they cannot control their emotions, then they should let other, more emotionally stable, moderators handle the political threads. It is amazing how a little bit of power goes to some people's heads.

That reminds me a little bit of a scenario I was on with another website (now defunct) years ago, prior to when I first joined BGR (on a different name) in 2005. One or two moderators took advantage of a couple of the rules that slanted in their direction and used it to pick apart at the membership base that disagreed with their views. Before long, a once booming website that had a consistent base went down the tubes. I was a moderator on that website and although I didn't have a great deal of power, my mistake was not stepping it up and calling them out like I would if it were me now. The administration team on a website usually develops a bond due to the labor that goes in to it. Thus, most of the time violations by a moderator or administrator are taken with a grain of salt - as was in the case you mentioned.

Because of the free labor leading to violations being overlooked, all it takes is one person to mess a good website up. That's all it took on the website I was on prior to BGR. They would troll you and taunt you in the high school basketball and football forums, and when you responded in kind they would suspend you. It led to several members leaving the website and although the administration made an occasional attempt to get the board running again, some of the key members left and often the effort would fall short after about a month or two.

I was very loose as a moderator and that probably led to discussion getting out of control sometimes. Even so, I thought it was a lot better than using my power to suspend or ban as often happens on the website you mention. People get a little bit of power and it goes to their heads. A good staff member is one that is willing to listen to and understand their constituents whether they agree or disagree, putting personal views aside. One of the biggest mistakes a staff member can make is blowing off a concern or idea from their members as trash can fodder.

The way the rules are structured on just about any website, one or two people that get into power can use that to their advantage considering (especially with their lengthy rule list) the rules can be bent to suit the situation. Like you said, emotional stability is important for that type of position. There are views from all across the political spectrum, and it is rather silly to moderate based on that.