First and foremost, despite any of the things that have gone on recently, this forum is truly an awesome place with great people!
Second, Phil and the moderators do a lot of work that often goes unappreciated. They catch flack for doing the dirty side of their jobs and are always being poked fun at. I mean, think about it, what is a newer member supposed to think of the authority figures on the forum when members openly sport their mod rap sheet in their signature? Now there are many older members that know this is just meant in a show of light hearted fun but, that's the older members.
With that being said, I'm probably what some would refer to as a new member (less than 1year tenure) and, when everyone starts to talk about "the old days" or "in the beginning", I have some idea what they are talking about but, truthfully, I wasn't there. You can go back and read all the stuff on the founding of the brethren but, you still may not truthfully understand the meaning of it all. It would be nice to think that everyone who signs up to become a member goes through and actually reads all of this stuff but, let's be realistic, that is not the case. Now, aside from issuing a test to all new members to check and see if they actually read through everything, what can be done? When it comes down to it, I think it falls more on the members than it does on Phil and the mod team. That age old rule of leading by example. We don't have to go around telling people what and what not to do do but, chances are if one sees another doing something, they are going to do it and most likely push it even farther. Some of the older members are excellent at knowing just how far they can push something without coming under direct fire from the mods but, a newer member sees it and pushes it even farther going over the edge. Remember, give a person an inch and they'll try to run a mile. The way it looks, if we want to make this place the best place it can be, or was, depending on how you look at it, is going to be by the examples we set with one another and the mod team. It's that whole common sense and courtesy thing. Which now-a-days seems less and less common in general and not just on here. Those things along with just stopping to take a breath before typing will make a world of difference. Remember, we don't need to respond to every statement that is made on here, sometimes it's just best to sigh, shake your head, and move on.
Don't know if any of these thoughts matter to the rest but, just how I've been viewing it lately.
