Forums

About ten years ago I used to be a moderator in a chat room. It was quite a popular place on mIRC, it got dozens and dozens of people chatting away on the screen and you needed to have a few mods at all times in order that things could be slightly controlled. You would sometimes get silly people popping in and being abusive, agressive that sort of thing and, as a mod, you had the ability to sling them off and make it impossible for them to rejoin the link. It was essential however that you did not abuse this power; some mods did though and you could see how this little bit of power went to their heads. They would sling people out of the chat room on the slightest pretext whereas I would give a warning or two before doing it.

Why I'm bringing this up now is that since I have been out in France I have belonged to a forum - not a chat room - but a messageboard type of forum where people could post questions about life in Brittany and receive answers from either people who knew what they were talking about and give proper advice or (basically) tossers who thought they knew everything and were a bit rude with their responses,

Now this particular forum is moderated by a few people who dispense extreme censorship with the advice given by forum members like myself. For example, a few months ago somebody asked what shows were worth seeing in London because they were going the following week. A few suggestions were made including one about seeing 'Lord of the Rings' (the musical that had been on at Drury Lane). I then posted that it was no longer showing because it had finished its run early. Would you believe that my answer was pulled as not being relevant. So, they left the recommendation to see it but not the post about it not being on. Yes, these moderators are as daft as that!

Well, the other week I had about four posts deleted for similar ludicrous reasons and I have decided enough is enough. I have eliminated them from my Bookmarks and I shall never post on there again. I'd say where 'there' is but I'm not going to give them free publicity. I'm just letting off steam and taking advantage of the fact that this is my forum and I'm the sole poster and the sole moderator. I'd put a smiley but then I'd have to ban myself for being cheesy.