[Maru]

Mods will always have to worry about an angry mob. Unfortunately, that is "justice" on the internet. Anonymity in general allows people the flexibility to play out any role they wish, including individual fantasies of being an important clogs in the mob justice mission directives...

I don't think that making things public is a bad idea, because it puts at least some onus on the rest of the community to hold the rule breakers to a consistent standard. That can help manage egos... because they have the vent there on record, and it's also pretty easy to call out the worst of it.

If it's just people talking about the same deleted posts, then it's pretty easy to fall into the pattern of assuming a lot as bystanders... and even I'm guilty of this at times, since I almost never see the drama unfold with the real time. I'm usually on after the morning pick up when I think most stuff happens. Anyway... it's harder for the community itself to indulge a witch-hunt when the recurrent patterns of trollish behavior are laid out for all to see in plain view... then it becomes an argument with the community itself and not just a handfull of mods. I think they can manage that well most of the time, as the user base is a shared ownership in a sense... so they have some authority there... and it's easier to back up the moderators on the specifics of things, and how maybe some things could've gotten misconstrued... rather than rollover threads that read like the latest tabloid of local TiBB celebrity activity... anyway, that's my take... I've never been infracted, so the way that is handled would not effect me anyway... but I don't mind to chime in a bit if I think something is being missed in the conversation or someone is being particularly abusive... that is the way it should always be in a tight-knit community.