I really, really, don't want my new position as Admin to mean that I impose "my way" on the forum, and if any of you ever feel that I am doing that please give me a gentle slap about it, because I assure you it's not intentional. You have all been mods longer than I was and almost everything I have learned about helping to run *this* forum, with its particular quirks, has come from you guys.
Something has been weighing on my mind for a while, though, and I'd like to talk about it.
I am becoming more and more UNconvinced that always erring on the side of caution is the best way to be here....I have been on other forums where it was...but I don't think it is here. If a member or a thread is going to cause a problem, well, then, it's going to cause a problem. We should watch such members/threads so that we can catch problems early, yes, but I don't think that prevention is helping us or our image in the eyes of the members. If we edit or delete in order to prevent a problem, we can't always be sure that a problem was ever going to develop, and it opens us up to criticism from those factions who are already inclined not to respect us. In addition, aiming to prevent one problem means we have to prevent them ALL or we get accused of favouritism/bias...and one person's idea of a potential problem is going to be wildly different than another's.
I am, in particular, very wary of giving the impression that we will remove posts in order to prevent hurt feelings if none were intended in the post. It's almost impossible to see where the line should be drawn there and I think it could open up a whole host of problems. If someone's feelings are hurt by a particular post or thread then they know to come to us to speak about it and we can evaluate then whether it should stay or go.
One way or another, there isn't a lot that gets by us....one advantage of different time zones, I guess. If a problem occurs, we'll catch it, or a member will and they will report it, and we'll catch that.
I think what I am saying is that I am in favour of just letting things unfold as they will, and dealing with issues that have become problems, not just ones that might become problems. There are enough of us here, and enough coverage, that I think this is viable. If nothing else, it's a lot easier to build concrete evidence that a member should be temporarily or permanently removed if we have instances where they have said or done something really bad, rather than instances where we shut them up before s/he got the chance to.
When I first joined the forums there were no mods....there was just Jaime, and things trucked along OK most of the time and when they didn't, she came in and kicked some butt. I have seen the forum shift in member posting styles and get busier, and I do think having us here most of the time is necessary now....but I also think relaxing a little might be a good idea too.
But then, I have always been an advocate of letting people dig their own graves...those who are going to, always will, and those who aren't will stand back and let them.
Thoughts? Telling me I'm an idiot is welcome too...