Quote:
Originally Posted by Bobo Fett
For the life of me, I can't imagine how you would think was in any way respectful:
You only pop in here once in a while, have no idea what was in that thread before it was deleted, yet you're prepared to declare the moderator overzealous. I guess you think you're being respectful because you said it seems like the height of self importance, but if you were trying to be respectful, that wasn't a place you needed to go when you admittedly knew nothing about why the thread was closed, and any semblance of being respectful was wiped out by your opening ("overzealous moderator") and closing ("get over your internal politics") anyway.
Given that none of the responses you received have any hint of self-importance or ego, I'd say this simply confirms what was obvious from your first post - you made a ridiculous assumption based on little knowledge of the situation.
This, this, this. We have had so many "look at what adz is doing on Twitter he be crazy!" threads that benefit no one. At best, they let a few people enjoy themselves at his expense, and at worst, they end up being a net negative for both him and others suffering from mental illness.
It would be one thing if that thread had become a great tip line or something, but it wasn't. There was nothing in the way of leads that closing the thread has extinguished. I'm sure if PP and/or R*R were suddenly inundated with important information, they'd consider reopening - and at the very least, they'll be posting that info.
Probably for the best. Maybe I should've left this alone as well, but it pisses me off when I see volunteer moderators doing good work and then getting crapped on for pretty much no reason.
It always amazes me how people are able to make assumptions about others based on a couple of posts on the Internet. Do people really think there's a large subset of posters that get some sort of gratification from being able to "impose their will" on others by locking or deleting a thread? Seems like an assumption that belongs with the tired "nerd posting from Mom & Dad's basement" meme.
And of course that doesn't just apply to posts about moderators; people make ridiculous assumptions about all sorts of posters on the forums.
Pro Tip: The number of people whose entire personality, passions, and interests can be accurately captured in an hour or two's activity on a forum each day is very, very small. We all know little to nothing about the motivations of the vast majority of posters.
/rant
I regret taking the insulting line that I did, because now we've devoted a number of posts to me, and my tone, and that really shouldn't be the focus. That's my fault - I could have communicated my opinion without being such a dick.
My point is this: you (collectively, as moderators) are delving into the realm of thought police with your actions. I don't think the role of internet message board moderators ought to be to decide what is good or valid information worthy of our time. Your role should be to remove trolls and police libel and maliciousness. Not filter out information on my behalf because you think you know what's best.
Thus - in my opinion, your actions ARE driven by self importance and come from a place of duty, driven by ego. Essentially, you take your job more seriously and define it differently than I would. Which is fine - I don't make the rules. I'm a guest here, and I should try not to be so insulting.
I just don't and can't see the justification for meddling in a missing persons thread because you found the content counterproductive. I'd submit that perhaps all the dialogue around mental state is in bounds and relevant to the overall subject. I just think that less is more when it comes to moderating, and I have zero interest in critiquing you - I was just disappointed to see that the conversation I logged in to see had been censored.