Still it probably is worth having, for all parts. At least at the moment non-dealers simply don't post, already reading is interesting.

Wrong. Subjectivity is exactly what we want from mods, because they have to know the history of people, the culture of the community, how the rules have been applied in the past, when to show leniency, etc… And all we can ask of these unpaid volunteers is that they try to be as fair and levelheaded as possible when applying rules. Almost every forum realizes at some point that this is the case, because in a lot of cases strictly applying every single rule every time would result in valuable members of the community being banned or just leaving in frustration. So the mods always have to balance being strict rule nerds and making sure the health of the community is maintained in any well-run forum.

Dinesh has chastised me in the past (rightfully so) and deleted my posts when they were off topic or rude. Not frequently but at least a couple times. No hard feelings though because I can tell he means well and is trying his best at an UNPAID position (at least I assume it is if it’s like any other forum).

The lack of posts in this forum absolutely cannot be blamed on Dinesh moderating a thread after being pretty lapse for a while and not saying anything. He was actually being very nice in not saying much in the past and only coming down after getting some complaints. That’s exactly the type of moderation that is good for a forum, because it is not overly punitive.

Sometimes people just don’t have anything to talk about, and these things ebb and flow. I certainly would never want to be a mod on a forum and respect those that do it just for the love of the community.

Don't post in it unless they invite you in because there's leftover food from a holiday party or someone's giving you a ride home after their shift. Or you accidentally walk in when you're drunk.

I'm glad that you think Dinesh is very good at subjective moderation. Most decisions involve judgment calls. My post was to point out that someone reading his several paragraphs would be no closer to knowing what that judgment will be going forward.

His post made me think he can handle it. Combined with not posting there myself I can go happily forwards.

No guarantees otherwise, that''s the nature of the game.

If one doesn't like the subjective approach, I'll invite them to use this less subjective one: if you're not a cardroom employee, don't post in that thread.

Everyone else who is comfortable with it can continue to follow the more subjective rules currently in place.