When I first became a mod, the only admins were the original owners of the forum who weren't active any more. There are some functions that only an admin can do, and when we needed an admin to do something it was hard to get their attention because they were busy with the rest of their lives. So we asked if one of us could be an admin since we needed admin action so often. I didn't want the job because I was already frazzled by the problems with trying to control the heavy-handed moderating and I didn't think admin status would make it any easier. I'm not the dictator type lol. There was a sort of secret-ballot vote where all the mods wrote to the owner telling which one of two or three candidates they preferred, and you know who won. I'm not happy with the way she's changed, but it could have been worse.

Some time after that the forum was sold to some outfit that's only interested in using the site to run advertising, so it's probably best to have an admin who actually cares about birds. Don't expect any regime change though. I don't know of anyone that I would suggest as a replacement admin because the most experienced people have pretty much disappeared from the board. It's not really necessary for an admin to have a lot of bird knowledge of course, but it indicates that they're serious about the subject.

Maybe the admin being someone who doesn't post and doesn't do anything else but admin work would work better, and leave the mod job to the mods. That way there wouldn't be one person who is like moderator-in-chief. In my view it makes it unfair to the normal mods.
If the group of mods you have can't come to an agreement, scrap it and find a more armonious team.

I did all I could to keep the peace while I was a mod, and it might actually have worked if there hadn't been so many people who more more intent on enforcing the rules. A big part of the problem was that a lot of the mods were very conscientious people who thought that putting the smackdown on violators was the right thing to do. They never really grasped the idea that the goal of the rules was to provide a pleasant atmosphere, and enforcing the letter of the rules instead of the spirit of the rules has the opposite result.

Trying to keep the peace can be very disheartening when other people have a different goal. Their intentions were good but they had a very different approach than I did, and I was too outnumbered to have much of an effect. The current admin used to listen to me and agree with most of what I said, but I don't think she does much of either now. And that's why I don't post over there any more.

I wish there was just a redo button. Set everybody off fresh and on the same page. What do you think made her stop if she used to listen to you?

Power is an insidious beast.

The current admin actually doesn't post much any more, although she seems to be doing more since I stopped posting. She's good at giving breeding advice and there's not much of anyone left there that can do this. They say she spends huge amounts of time weeding out spammers.

I get the impression that she might be telling the mods what to do to rule violators instead of doing it herself. Which makes it hard on the mods if it's something they'd rather not do.


Yes, but who? And how do we know they'll actually be more harmonious? We thought we were going to have a great team before, and the outbreak of heavy-handedness was completely unexpected. Sometimes the way people react to having more power isn't what you expected,. Once they're in power it's hard to get them back out again without having a major crisis.

I can only guess, but I think it's related to the staff fighting that apparently occurred in private after I resigned. She may have switched to an "OK, I have the power so we're gonna do it my way" attitude because the staff couldn't agree on whatever issues they were arguing about. And now she's in the habit of doing it her way and doesn't pay much attention to dissenters.

she is not gonna be happy reading this thread, that's for sure

She probably won't ever read this thread lol. She's not a member here unless she joined using a secret identity, and it sounds like the other forum keeps her too busy for that sort of thing. If she does read it, that's OK. I'm not attacking anyone, just explaining what the situation looks like to me. She has good intentions (or at least she used to) and so did all the other mods who helped create drama over there. They have misplaced priorities IMO and that causes problems, but I don't think they're abusing people for the fun of it. They do it because they think it's their duty. Gotta protect the teenagers from words like 'dam' - there shouldn't be any preteens on the board because you have to swear that you're at least 13 when you register.

Im moderator in a forum... a bird one...
Never had any trouble with members...
Its run... much like this one... all members are
pleasant, no petty rules... just common sense ones, people respect each other..as it should be.
Been a mod for a good few years...