An apology

[steve25805 121,179]

I wish to offer an apology for the poor way I have handled certain situations recently. I have had an extended break from the forum during which some private discussions have taken place, and I can see that I might have over-reacted to certain situations and was perceived to be trying to censor criticism. That was not my intention but I can see that it may have looked that way.

But above all, I was wrong to suggest that anyone was being "cheap", which is an unnecessarily insulting thing for a moderator to say in response to a valid criticism. I apologise to Goldenpiss for having said something like that, and to anyone else who agreed with his criticisms and felt that my words were insulting to them too.

I am not perfect. Sometimes I get things wrong. But I will learn from this. .

[steve25805 121,179]

I do find it ironic that you now admit you were wrong in the way you chose to attack Goldenpiss, after your actions forced me off the moderation team, because I refused to agree not to publicly disagree with you, and it was that very attack that I had not supported

My actions forced nothing. Admin is not my puppet. He knows his own mind. He just happens to share my belief - as does Wetman - that mods undermining each other in public is bad for the forum. Admin decided in private to lay down new rules for moderators against doing that, asking us all to agree or resign if we couldn't. You refused to agree or resign, and insisted that you'd carry on regardless in defiance of the site owner's request, virtually challenging him to fire you.

And far from forcing you out, I tried - repeatedly - to persuade you to respect Admin's not unreasonable requests. Being a mod carries a responsiblity to respect the wishes of the site owner. You ought to know that.

And incidentally, this thread was locked so that it could just stand as an apology pure and simple. Yet in spite of no longer being a mod yourself, you still seem to possess mod powers to post in locked threads, which is maybe something Admin needs to look at.

And I'd have apologised to Goldenpiss or anyone else I might have offended much sooner if this had been handled better from the start and not been turned into a public slanging match.

I know you blame me personally, and for you it now appears personal. It also seems likely that the public nature of the slanging match has made many choose sides, with the inevitable bad feeling that results. Which also of course means I have probably lost the confidence of many forum members.

And with you seeking to blacken my name at every opportunity now, there will either be a prolonged slanging match ad nauseum which will do immense damage to the once friendly atmosphere. Or else I sit in silence whilst you sling shit at me constantly, which also indirectly damages the forum for as long as I remain a mod. And you have done your utmost to guarantee that large sections of the membership no longer have confidence in me.

For that reason I am seriously pondering asking Admin to find replacements for both of us, and voluntarily stepping down myself once they are in place. Because that may well be for the best for this forum now.

Contrary to what you seem to believe, I am not on some power trip. Moderating makes you enemies. It puts a target on your back. You cannot but help pissing some of the people off some of the time. And most of the time it isn't much fun. I honestly don't need it.

If my continuation as a mod damages this forum, I'd rather just go back to being an ordinary member.

[steve25805 121,179]

Well. this could of course go on forever.

And what good would ever come out of that?

So as of now I intend to just let you get on with it and say whatever you want, same with MegaPoop or anyone else.

No purpose is served by this bickering.

Insofar as my position as a mod is concerned, you may get your wish.

I have asked Admin to consider finding replacements for both of us, at which point I would then voluntarily step down. My continuation in such a role would likely now only become a focus for personal animosity, public bickering and discord. My stepping down in this climate might be the best course of action for this forum.