We recently had to ban thompson20. If you ever read the Ask the Mods board, you are probably aware that he was both a source of frustration and entertainment. Anyway, I thought I'd put together a thread to commemorate his passing. The guy was certainly one of the more... um... unique users we've had on the site. Anyway, I think most people thought it was all in good fun, but not everyone. I rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. There were several people calling for the thread to be locked or saying that I should step down as a moderator. I guess it raised some questions about what you guys are looking for in a moderator.

I've always tried to be a poster first and a moderator second. I think it is the only way to handle a volunteer position without turning into a heartless jerk on a power trip.(Something we get accused of regularly.:P) I've seen countless threads for banned members on OT, and unless the poster was well liked, usually the threads contain a fair amount of mockery aimed at the banned person, and it has always been a nice thing as a moderator to finally speak your piece about someone. When I made that thread, I feel like I was acting as a poster and not as a representative of Gamespot. I didn't want people to miss out on the hilarity that was thompson20. To a few people on the outside of things, it looked like I was abusing my position to humiliate someone on this site. That wasn't my intention at all.

I guess in a sense, I'd like this blog to stand as an apology to anyone who took it the wrong way. I don't regret posting the thread for a second, even though it did sorta spiral out of control at the end. I do think that there is a 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' sort of situation that comes with being a moderator. If you act like a regular poster and try to have some fun, you are going to get a certain segment of the community complaining about how your actions are totally inappropriate and that you should step down. I won't speculate as to their motivations, as I probably wouldn't have nice things to say.:P On the other hand, if you try to step in and enforce the rules with people that you've been posting with for years, they will say that you've become out of touch with the community. I've been told a few times by a handful of people that I used to be cool before I became a mod. I really don't feel like I've changed, but I suppose that is a hard thing to gauge for one's self.

It can be disheartening at times, but that is how it goes. I enjoy this community a lot and I'd like to continue contributing both as a moderator and a poster.:)