[GUS]

Off topic. Seriously, me
It's a great eco forum which offers superb advice but one of the moderators is dragging the whole brand (that sells good kit) down a flame war fuelled river.

How would you feel if on your second post you were absolutely verbally attacked whilst proffering some advice (farming) ..(not me I hasten to add, I lasted longer than that)
I understand why ryan keeps himself so busy with his baby , hope it's not catching though, hate to lose another home & good people.

Ryan, how do some mods end up wielding so much power? & why would they be let to run into the dirt something set up to initiate discussion & development of green technology?
I was sick of his veiled & not so veiled threats on myself & others & suggested he was a troll himself if he failed to be play fair..
anyone wish to see some madness & vitriol of a once ok guy's descent into hell, think he must be sick or something!
look up "Martin" posts on navitron renewables.

changed my tag line link of a grow your own site (dig for victory) to "troll in moderators clothing or moderator in trolls clothing"? moderate fairly ...& funnily enough he lost it, hope it struck home that it is what he's been doing.

Anyone else know how this malady develops? must be a fairly recent wrte up by psychologists, if anyone finds anything please let me know!

[Nikki]

Oh man GUS! Sorry that happened to you...

Some people will abuse every little ounce of power they have just to make themselves feel special.. I have come upon many forums who, even the MEMEBERS, are vicious little things too. I think it's the whole idea of the fact that since they aren't talking in front of you (in your face) they will take things as far as they can because they're hiding behind a computer, you know?

It doesn't make it right but wow.. I hate forums and Mods that behave like that! BUT... You have us!

[Zombie Pumpkins!]

I've seen some pretty nasty posts and behavior on the web. I guess the anonymity factor makes people think they can treat others badly. Would they act the same way if they were face to face with the person they were abusing? Probably not.

Somehow this forum has mostly avoided the trolls and the power crazed mods. Anyone is welcome here, as long as they're not spamming and being polite to the rest of the members.

Maybe Halloween topics don't bring out as many flame wars. For the most part, we can all agree on things like how to scoop out a pumpkin. I don't envy the work that a forum mod has to do to keep the peace on a forum that focuses on more controversial topics.

"There are three things I have learned never to discuss with people: religion, politics, and the Great Pumpkin."

[danw]

Some of us are sicker than others...i used to be very flamulated.

[GUS]

Well it got me thinking just prior to my experience at the hands of a moderator who wouldn't allow thoughts or free speech unless it was to his own drum (I previously had a very good relationship with this moderator but he went decidely strange & increasingly vitriolic, too much time spent purely on the board)?
But I digress I was looking online for this as a new psychological phenomonon & was hoping to find a few papers to read on the subject of moderators, just like cooked liver & vitamin a, (don't ask) I could not, so theres room for someone linked to write up an interesting paper on the possible spiral of mental health within this group..
My thoughts on this person (seriously) are for a long time is that he's ill or has "got very cranky old man" all of a sudden, which in a place like a forum can definitely take it's toll.
If anyone has seen any papers on mods metal health i'd love to have a read!

[sodajazz]

Don't think it is a 'new psychological phenomonon'.. it's just a case of someone given a little power and taking it to the extreme. The starting point would be The Stanford prison study (1971) ..because of the ethical implications no-one has come close to replicating this.

You may find some sociological reasons for his power trip.

theres room for someone linked to write up an interesting paper on the possible spiral of mental health within this group.

May consider this if I ever decide to do my Phd

[GUS]

Thankyou Sodajazz, i'll try & track that down.
Whilst the power mad aspect isn't new the internet forum is still relatively new, so i'm surprised that this hasn't been covered as forums are a good 10yrs old now (ie mainstream)
The results are sure to make interesting reading.