I enjoy coming to the bbs and I wouldn't do so if I wasn't telling the truth. However, if and when I complain about the bbs, I complain about other posters rather than the way the mods handle their business. In all honesty, I think the mods have more room to be tighter with rule enforcement than most people seem to think is fair.
The bbs has not become less fun because of the mods "stricter enforcement" of the rules. If anything it has become less fun because of the influx of posters who disregard the rules, thereby forcing the mods to enforce the rules more often, not more strictly. The rules haven't changed, only been modified and more precisely defined to keep up with the times. Just as a judge is given leeway to interpret the law as their judgment sees fit, so too should the mods be allowed to interpret the rules they were selected to enforce as they see fit on a case-by-case basis.
The rules are made very clear and are reasonable. Simply because there are a thousand posters complaining the rules are too strict does not necessarily mean they are. It means there are a thousand posters who fail to adhere to them. The rules of this bbs are not what need modification, it's the mindset of the posters who need to rethink their approach to them. What constitutes "harmless fun" and "joking around" to a majority who is under the age of 18 does not necessarily translate to the same to the minority who is older and/or more mature.
I know there are many of us who try to keep in mind "the internet is serious business" and remind ourselves that most of what we do here should not be held with great importance. But in the case of the mods, and I'm only speaking from speculation, I can imagine that even though they hold no great power in the grand scheme of things, they still view their status as a sign of trust and achievement. Being given their station must be a gratifying accomplishment, something that makes you feel moderately good for having earned it. And it would be a shame to betray that feeling and that trust by not performing with the best intentions. Regular users should look to mods as an example rather than to demonize them for having to dish out reprimands for their own actions. There will always be someone no matter where you are who's charge it is to play disciplinarian because someone has to maintain the civility, otherwise there would be absolute craziness the likes of /b/.
Instead of complaining about a ban, it should be viewed as an opportunity to learn from a mistake. Those who do not learn from mistakes demonstrate a lack of wisdom and maturity, no matter what the circumstance and gravity of the situation, and that is not something that should be rewarded. If you're tired of receiving bans, stop making banworthy decisions. It's selfish and juvenile to instead do the opposite and petition the mods to stop banning and let your inappropriate actions slide without consequence.
A 1 to 3 day ban as all that serious. Is it truly that difficult to find something else to occupy one's time? Ask yourself honestly, have I become that dependent on the bbs that I cannot willfully refrain from posting, I need to be forced to do so before I relent? A ban that short should be regarded as a warning, but if it's too complex and infuriating to comprehend, then maybe you deserve the time out for more reasons than why it was initially given.
In terms of what the mods could do to improve their performance, it is therefore only fair that in turn they could give out more warnings before resorting to a ban. The practicality of a warning system is a bit tricky, especially on an individual basis. PMing a warning individually is time consuming I can imagine, and posting warnings in public may seem a bit foreboding, but the benefit is it can reach more people than just the one it was intended for and serve as a more widespread warning. In the end, the mods can only guide the other posters, they cannot be held accountable for the actions of other posters. They cannot change the posters' habits no more than they can change which way the wind blows. The compromise is that they continue to clean up the bbs in the manner they always have and hope that posters eventually learn on their own. there is not perfect solution other than an imperfect concession to the fact that people will always make their own choices and therefor have to face the consequences when they go wrong.
A lot of people compare the mods to Nazis, constantly attempting to control via forced influence the actions of the other posters. Well the same will be true of the other posters if they attempt to control the actions of the mods for their own selfish reasons. Ganging up on them is not the answer. Mob mentality is nothing but an unorganized clusterfuck of angry sentiment who's root cause is likely the mob itself. If you want to understand the way things work and why, open dialogue with the mods is the better course of action. I think everyone should feel free to talk to them on the same level. The mods aren't demigods on a high pedestal as they are made out to be by some. They are regular people just like everybody else who were simply given trust to help maintain a site they've enjoyed for years and become a part of, and I bet they want to be treated that way.
Everyone who points a finger at the mods for causing the decline in the fun level of this bbs has 3 fingers pointing right back at them. Nonsensical, childish posts and behavior leads to worse things down the line, regardless that some find it "fun." Leniency in the rules is not the answer, nor is dictating to the mods what their judgment should be. Constructive criticism and advice is never a bad thing though and I think any opportunity to learn is a great one. But on a parallel notion, that's exactly how I view a ban- as someone else who knows better telling me, "hey, you shouldn't do that, it's stupid." Good advice.
I've read plenty of threads from the years before I was here to come to understand that the bbs really hasn't changed all that much. In fact, from what I understand, the mods used to be stricter back then than what they are now. Yet, despite that, everyone seems to agree the bbs was still a ton more fun back then, even in this very thread. Quite the conundrum. So have mods become more strict since then and that's the reason why there are fewer fun threads, or have they lightened up and it's the rest of us posters who have failed to come up with anything genuinely funny?
The fact of the matter is NG has become a very large and popular website that is expanding every year. It only follows that more moderation is necessary to accommodate the growing userbase. Several of the forums some of you also frequent may not have a high level of moderation because it is not necessary due to the fact that they have a smaller community or a more mature one. NG's community is for the most part on the larger side and also, unfortunately, on the immature side due to the young median age of its users. But NG didn't become the type of place that draws in unfunny, immature kids overnight, it happened over a long period where everyone began encouraging that type of behavior. If you really like the site, do you want to be part of the reason why there are people who say to themselves "I think I'll go to Newgrounds because I can do pretty much whatever I want and get away with it there."
As for what can be improved by the moderation team, I'd like to see a crack down on the type of users who come to the bbs simply to post like an asshole. Yes, life is not fair and being a teenager sucks, so full of emotion and confusion and insecurity, but is it really necessary to take out one's unhappiness on others? If we want to promote a more fun environment, why not start with curtailing those who bring nothing but a continuous negative attitude and spread it around. Other than that, I highly enjoy the bbs and see no reason why the mods should seriously alter their habits or why everyone else cannot continue to have fun and keep coming back on a regular basis.
