Originally Posted by
LowCel
I know you will find it hard to believe but we aren't all "IB puppets". I was a mod long before IB took over. I still perform my "job" the exact same way I did it before they took over. I try to be as fair as possible and as open minded as possible. I consider the people on this forum to be friends, actual people, not just anonymous people on the internet. I would actually enjoy riding with pretty much every member here. I also would like to be able to wear a bf jersey or shirt without having to worry about people wanting to kill me because I have been unfair to them on the internet. I am the first to admit that I have made some mistakes and I surely will make some more. I just hope that everyone here will give me the chance to try to make things right when I do screw up.
Before I would become a "puppet" or do something that was against my moral values I would step down from my position.
LC, I enjoy your contributions to the threads, think your provide a valuable service to the community (as a member and a mod), and assume I would enjoy riding with you as well. You would hand me my ass, probably twice over, but that's not the current point...
Either I'm a conspiracy theorist (a HUGE possibility for sure) or there's been changes in moderation since the IB takeover. The idea that Tom was asked to be the site administrator speaks to who is running the ship. The owner picked the head honcho and not the users. So you may not be a puppet, and Tom might not be a puppet, but you are definitely working for IB. And I say working, because although you might not be getting paid, your work is to create a peaceful environment that leads to IB profit.
All I really want is transparency. Which seems to be exactly what is not happening. I know I am harping on this "community of users" idea, but that's what a forum is. In an earlier post, Tom talked about moderation and how moderator disciplinary decisions are between the moderator and the violator/victim, and nobody else. Once again that's a top-down way of looking at power and not a community-interest way. Moderation should be in the name of what the community wants, not what IB dictates. The IB brand of moderation is "make it go away, restore peace, make profits." That leads to deleting threads, changing posts, etc. etc. I may have gone overboard in calling you a puppet (and it was actually not directed at you), but, when it comes to admin on this forum, the lack of transparency seriously blurs the line between moderation and puppetry.