SAM:
I don't know, maybe sniffy expects some civility from administrators and mods. I know its a false expectation, having seen several instances of callous disregard myself, but then, mods and admins are not quite so forthcoming themselves when the shoe is on the other foot.
Have you considered that, just maybe, people might get a more civil response if they were civil about voicing their concerns or complaints in the first place? Rather than jumping in with wild accusations that the admin or moderators here maliciously alter posts and polls, or that the appointment process of moderators was somehow dishonest, don't you think there might be a better way to approach the issue?
I've always been very clear about my own stand and quite disappointed in the churlishness and frivolousness displayed by some admins.
i.e. me, since I'm the only admin involved here.
I do not believe I have been churlish (def: rude and boorish). I am rightly offended by accusations that I am personally dishonest in my administration of this forum, and entitled to express my outrage at such baseless accusations. I think I have done that in a civilised manner.
It doesn't prevent me from seeing rudeness and uncivil behaviour as unwarranted. sniffys OP was remarkably clear and Plazma's petulant post, your frivolous responses and James references to rants were all pretty much uncalled for.
You haven't commented on sniffy's accusations. Are they uncalled for, SAM? Or do you also think that the admins and moderators here are dishonest and maliciously edit polls and posts? (Try a straight answer for once, please, although I know this is probably beyond you.)
Indeed. And they are. I've often noticed in arguments with mods how posts disappear leaving only some points of view available rendering the argument pretty much indefensible.
Unsupported nonsense in the same vein as sniffy's accusation that superstring edited her posts (see my analysis of that above, where I found that in fact superstring only made one edit - to his own post).
Most people have little idea of how things work in the mod forum and to treat their genuine queries as a rant after intimating that you welcome their participation is shabby in the extreme
sniffy's rant (and yes, it is a rant) was not framed as a query. It was framed as a complaint.
As a matter of fact, just today I have had a few exchanges by PM with a (non-moderator) member who wanted to know about various aspects of moderation here. It was a perfectly civil conversation and I was happy to answer his questions. I even suggested that he should perhaps post his questions publically so that other moderators would also have a chance to give their perspectives.
Bells:
She had a complaint to make. Instead of reviewing it and discussing it either in PM's or in the forum itself in a civil manner, everyone starts getting narky and overly defensive and offensive. Grow the fuck up, all of you.
Credit where credit is due, please. As you will see from above, I clearly offered to discuss the matter with sniffy by PM, while leaving her the option of a public discussion. She opted to have this discussion publically. She made the choice.