Quote from: SgtSpike on June 24, 2011, 05:23:07 PM

Sure, you're more than welcome to come on over! Right now, I'm having an issue with getting forum activity up. I anticipated it to be a little easier than this to start up a new forum. Lots of people seem to register, make a good number of new posts, and then are never heard from again. I think it's just the lack of activity, but I can only start so many new threads myself before it starts to look like a "SgtSpike is talking to himself" forum.

Thanks! And hey, seeding discussion is an entirely appropriate thing for a moderator to do at the beginning - but I see your point.

Back OT, here's a prime example of how forum.bitcoin.org is a veritable case study of how NOT to moderate. First we have a post (emphasis mine) by theymos, an "Administrator", dated 6/9:

Quote from: theymos on June 10, 2011, 04:39:36 AM

Off-topic replies have become a big problem. From now on, I will be deleting such replies without notice, forum-wide. If your replies disappear, this is probably why.

All replies must respond to the topic's original post in some way, even if they are replying to an on-topic reply. If your reply has nothing to do with the topic post, either add some content that is relevant or create a new topic.

Please report off-topic posts as soon as you see them.

Ten days later, hugolp (a "Global Moderator") posts this in a thread titled "The Labor Theory of Money w/ regards to Microeconomics...":

Quote from: hugolp on June 19, 2011, 04:28:29 PM

Quote from: lemonginger on June 19, 2011, 04:08:35 PM

I believe that the concept of "voluntary" is quite abused by Libertarians and especially the Austrian school in not recognizing the inherent power differentials and coercion that creep into any relationship where one is selling one's labor to another.

Austrian economics is only descriptive and with some capability of prediction, like any other science its amoral. Recognizing the morality or inmorality of some arrengement is not the task of austrian economics, the same way recognizing the morality or inmorality of an arrengement is not the task of physics or medicine. Science should describe an arrangement and predit its results. The task of saying if it is moral or inmoral belongs to morality/politics/philosophy.

So lets see...here we have a moderator replying to a somewhat off-topic comment by another poster with a completely off-topic post - in violation of another moderator's posting rule!

Somehow I resisted the temptation to click the "Report to moderator" link and report the post. Lips sealed

Since I've mostly vented in this thread without really contributing anything constructive, I'd like to offer a few suggestions (if any mods/admins are reading this):

Have one person in charge of maintaining/updating the rules (you've allowed a free-for-all for users, don't have one for the mods)
Keep all forum posting rules in one highly visible place. (they seem to be scattered all over the forum right now)
Inform new users that they implicitly agree to the rules upon registering their account. (I don't recall seeing this)
Mods should post under a "non-moderator" handle if they are frequently contributing to forum discussions (to preserve the appearance of impartiality)

I guess it goes without saying that moderators who post under their "moderator" handle are subject to the rules like everyone else.