It is with no small amount of trepidation that I write this, but I am hoping that having just exceeded 3600 in my post count, having been a member for nearly two years now, and having something resembling a reputation will help convince everyone that I am not, in fact, a troll. People with the temerity to believe they are being hard done by by moderators seem to be being accused of trolldom with distressing regularity these days.
There are two matters which I wish to discuss. The first one is here:
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=54146
I am really not sure what Grienspace did to deserve being threatened with banning for having placed a thread - a non-trolling thread, mind you, in which everyone seemed to be enjoying the discussion - in the wrong forum. Regs routinely place threads in the wrong forum; they get moved without further ado. The only time I’ve ever seen anyone else threatened in terms this severe for wrong-foruming is when someone posts a Pitworthy thread elsewhere. And really - threatening to have someone’s wife’s internet access cut off is really beyond the pale, IMHO.
Then we come to:
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=54286
IJGrieve posts a thread politely inquiring on the whereabouts of a thread, which had been deleted. I’ve done the same thing myself. UncleBeer responds in terms which impute trollishness to IJGrieve, for no apparent reason.
Apparently, these two incidents are due to past assholism on the part of IJGrieve and Grienspace. But considering the experience of past posters, these seem more than a little bit out of proportion.
For reference, compare the response to a genuine troll, Jack Dean Tyler. He accused Esprix of pedophilia - of pedophilia, mind you - on November 15. He was allowed to continue to post for another entire month.
On the other hand, compare Wildest Bill. He has various strong opinions, which he tends to express clumsily, pissing many people off (including myself). However, he is given the benefit of the doubt - as well he should be - and his behaviour is attributed to simple clumsiness rather than a concerted effort to be a troll.
I am perfectly willing to concede these points in the face of evidence of severe assholism from either of these parties. I’m the first to admit that I haven’t exactly been following the careers of either of the posters I mentioned above with bated breath. But from what I do know the response of the moderators seems to be disproportionate to the offense.
I have tried to be as polite as possible in this post, because I understand that rude complaints are rightly liable to be accused of whining. I therefore hope that the mods will take it in the spirit in which it is offered, as a questioning of their behaviour rather than as an immediate condemnation or a flame.
I understand that it is the mods’ sandbox. But with power comes the responsibility to exercise it fairly and ethically, which is as true on the SDMB as it is in government.