I don't think a bunch of users shouting "make him a mod!" is an effective way to get new moderators appointed.

I believe the point of this thread is that perhaps it might be time for the existing mods to appoint new (qualified) moderators of their choice (Not neccisarily Mr. Rowlands, although I would agree that he possesses the qualities of a good moderator) to help them with the workload and excercise more appropriate actions in "delicate" or "difficult" threads. This isn't to say the existing mods are doing a bad job, but there ought to be a change in the way things are done.

I think that if the right people are appointed moderators (who excercise more appropriate, rather than drastic measures), the memebers of this forum will be more satisified with the results, and the existing moderators will be much happier with some of the workload being taken off their shoulders. I will also add that it might be nice for the current mods to have people angry with somebody else for a change.

But, I am not a moderator, and I do not have any power over this forum. It is ultimately up to them to decide what will happen.

Thank you moderators. I appreciate the work you do.

I certainly concur that we all owe the moderators a big thank you for the impossible job of trying to herd this company of cats !!

I have a probably crazy idea but here goes......what if we declared 1 day a year ( April 1st.??) is non-moderated day. 1 day where by mutual agreement there will be no moderators involved and you can post whatever you like?? Might let everyone who feels frustrated about not being able to say what they really feel get it out of their systems and thus be well behaved the other 364 days??

Might be worth a try??

What do you think?? Ross Rowland

Please don't. If I want to watch unmoderated communication, I'll just turn on the evening news,

Yes, I find April 1 disturbing as well.

I personally think this is an EXCELLENT idea and should be implemented ... for, and on, the Railfanning forum.

Certainly not on the Interchange, though. That should be kept objective, professional information for professionals. And it should be kept as very nearly ego-free as possible, in my very humble opinion. It would be nice if we all had professional discipline and 'self-policed' how we express our opinions. And there is a point well shy of libel (or a perceived interference with a business relationship) where professionals choose to eschew ad hominem commentary.

Why don't we all go over to TO on April Fools Day, collectively shake our heads and come back and reflect upon how good we have it here.

Ross - I only wish that people could be civil every day - alas - not the world we both live in currently.

I'm a retired railroad official who used to frequently make posts to the Trains website (under a different username) and, to a somewhat lessor extent, RPYN. I hardly ever do anymore. I finally got sick and tired of dealing with the personal attacks that seem to be the stock in trade of many other posters (not most, but numerous enough). I like sharing information about railroads and railroad preservation (those who know me know of my long time involvement in the railroad preservation movement). But it's no fun doing this when posts become cannon fodder for trollers. Bottom line, I think the moderators are very well justified in shutting down threads that are becoming personal and not sharing any useful information. Otherwise, people with useful information are simply not going to share it.

With respect to the Midcontinent situation, I have absolutely no information - nada - about this unfortunate situation that would enable me to give an intelligent evaluation of the merits of the case or the culpability (if any) of the Midcontinent board. From the posts I've seen, I don't think any of the other posters do either. What would be more informative than posting opinions or tirades is for someone to post the text of the arbitration award (if it's publicly available - it may not be) and let people form their own conclusions.

Like.

This concept made for a great horror movie.
THE PURGE (LINK)
In the future, a wealthy family is held hostage during the Purge, a 12-hour period in which any and all crime is legalized.

Powerful analogy.

The gods have gone crazy. No moderators on April 1? What a brilliant idea if you're a troller - open season. If you're trying to discourage knowledgeable people from posting useful information on this forum, this is a real good way to do it.

I have (I think) a good deal of useful information on railroads from 35 years as a railroad official and over 50 years in the railroad preservation movement. But I'm not willing to share it if it opens me up to attacks by the many trollers who populate railroad related websites and just want to attack other participants. I'm sick and tired of posting a serious discussion of some railroad issue and have some idiot who's just looking for an excuse to attack someone post a personal attack.

Is this going to be a site for sharing information or for broadcasting insults? You decide.

Again, an ironic thread, considering "[t]he INTERCHANGE is a moderated discussion board for exchanging relevant, fact-based, information about railroad history, the crafts of research and authorship, the operation of railroad museums, railroad history groups, tourist railroads, and other related organizations."

Why the moderators allow threads that deviate from the stated focus of the Interchange is beyond me.

April 1st posts have been bared from TO for some time now, for good reason...