On Behalf of All of SDN: Thank You EVO DEVO

[lehavre]

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Members do not see this ad.

We really appreciate the great job you guys do monitoring this site, maintaining this site and keeping the trolls at bay.

So from all the users of SDN: THANK YOU Evo Devo!!!!

Take this time to pat yourself on the back. Go to the local bar, throw one (or more) down and tell the bartender, "Hey it's on lehavre and the gang!"

If he fails to understand: Break out the lap top, log on to SDN and show him this thread.


Finally, THANKS EVO DEVO!!!!

 

[SanDiegoSOD]

Here here! Enough of the recent bashing of Evo and other mods. Do people really think mods enjoy closing pointless threads when they know they are going to get crap for it? Evo, Dr. Mom, etc., do a great job of moving the crap from pre-allo to the lounge. 👍

 

[coincidental]

perhaps I am cynical, but aren't they getting paid to do that or is it just a volunteer thing?

uh...who do you think is paying them? These boards are free and money just doesn't appear. If someone's been hitting you up for a membership fee, I think you might have a problem...

 

[lulubean]

i agree - you guys are doing a great job. thanks for keeping the site a positive place for us stressed out applicants.

 

[DrYo12]

👍 👍 😍

 

[SanDiegoSOD]

Haven't you seen the "Become an SDN donor" signs up? This site collects money for sure.

Bandwidth and memory are not free. Although it costs you nothing to log on to SDN, it does cost someone to host it. I dont know where all the donor money goes, but most, if not all, goes to maintaining this site.

 

[USCTex]

Bandwidth and memory are not free...

For a forum and traffic like this..yowzer... $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

 

[Medikit]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the work you do.

 

[cpw]

Haven't you seen the "Become an SDN donor" signs up? This site collects money for sure.

SDN is a non-profit organization. All SDN donor money goes to support servers and bandwidth. Running a site this size is NOT cheap.

All SDN mods are strictly volunteers... we make no money. (unless I'm getting royaly hosed) 😉

 

[visualwealth]

wow, big time butt kissers on here... "Oh you are so great thanks for deleting all those posts and moving stuff around lol".. what load of crap 😀 . They enjoy the power....



PS: Plz don't ban me lol 😀

 

[cpw]

we see you when you're sleeping.. we know when you're awake (and logged on).. we know when you've been bad or good .. oh wait.. that's something else.

 

[ibby]

We really appreciate the great job you guys do monitoring this site, maintaining this site and keeping the trolls at bay.

So from all the users of SDN: THANK YOU Evo Devo!!!!

Take this time to pat yourself on the back. Go to the local bar, throw one (or more) down and tell the bartender, "Hey it's on lehavre and the gang!"

If he fails to understand: Break out the lap top, log on to SDN and show him this thread.


Finally, THANKS EVO DEVO!!!!

what's a troll?

 

[indo]

None of you have been here long enough to do anything "on behalf of all of SDN".

 

[45408]

Haven't you seen the "Become an SDN donor" signs up? This site collects money for sure.

Seriously, now. I go to another message board with a lot more traffic of this board, and you wouldn't believe what that guy pays a months. He drops well over $30,000 a year for that board, and you can bet that this forum is many thousands a year (if not over a thousand a month). Check out what a server, load balancer and power conditioner would run you, not to mention several hundred gigs of bandwidth. 😉

 

[Wiggy73]

Ditto the mod appreciation. You guys have a tough job and do it great. Thanks for keeping the site positive!

 

[leechy]

Yeah, thanks mods! (Is my nose brown yet?) Just thought I'd buy insurance against a rainy post-hold day (not that I anticipate going bad anytime soon!) 🙂

 

[sacrament]

wow, big time butt kissers on here... "Oh you are so great thanks for deleting all those posts and moving stuff around lol".. what load of crap 😀 . They enjoy the power....



PS: Plz don't ban me lol 😀

hahaha...

so true.

 

[sacrament]

You guys have a tough job and do it great.

What's with everybody thinking it could possibly be a tough job? You surf an internet forum and when you see something you don't like, you delete it. That doesn't sound like a monster challenge to me.

 

[Pinkertinkle]

Funny how its Le"another locked thread"havre starting this thread.

 

[MadameLULU]

Funny how its Le"another locked thread"havre starting this thread.

Sarcasm is all over his post, except the majority of ppl don't see it.

 

[sacrament]

Sarcasm is all over his post, except the majority of ppl don't see it.

HAHAHA

I didn't see it either. Now it makes sense.

 

[BigRedPingpong]

Sarcasm is all over his post, except the majority of ppl don't see it.

THose guys are lettin' the brown smear all over their face. Nose up the arse style.

 

[swifteagle43]

uh...who do you think is paying them? These boards are free and money just doesn't appear. If someone's been hitting you up for a membership fee, I think you might have a problem...

See the ad in the upper right? Thats how the get paid....

 

[Lee]

I know some of the guests are just kidding, but I'd like to make a few serious point here...

Regarding volunteers: Everyone involved with SDN donates their time. As executive director of SDN, I don't get any money, the mods don't get anything either. We do it because we enjoy helping fellow student doctors.

Every mod at SDN at some point volunteered and was selected into the moderator family by other moderators. As founder, I am the only person that was not a former registered guest before becoming a mod.

Regarding donations: over the entire 2004 year, we received less in donations than it costs to run the site for 3 weeks; bandwidth and server maintenance is expensive. SDN does not actively solicit donations and we don't want students to feel pressured to donate (I was a poor student just a few years ago). However, we accept donations because there are a few students that want to donate to SDN.

About advertising: The pre-med and medical student market is not a significant profit center. The advertising dollars are slim -- you'll find only a few advertisers that have an interest in pre-med or med students... and those advertisers are small-fry advertisers. Big guns like Kaplan and TPR don't advertise on SDN because they don't need to -- they already dominate the market. A few years ago, there was a for-profit site, medschool.com, that learned this the hard-way. They quickly burned through a few million bucks and promptly went under.

Additionally, to ensure no conflict-of-interest, SDN does not accept school advertising. School ads that do appear on the site are served through Google, we do not have any relationship to these ads. This also decreases our sources of ad revenue.

SDN's overhead is supported primarily by CRG. CRG is a nonprofit educational organization governed by board-of-directors consisting of academic primary-care physicians from across the nation.

 

[MADSTAB]

Hail to the bus driver bus driver ..........Uh I mean moderators moderators

 

[LiNk]

Thank you for donating your time. If I had more money to give I would. I've learned so much from SDN and the info I got from the MCAT forum was very valuable. I only have 1 pre-med friend at school that I can talk to but gosh golly gee I sure feel like I have many other friends here 😍

 

[Wiggy73]

What's with everybody thinking it could possibly be a tough job? You surf an internet forum and when you see something you don't like, you delete it. That doesn't sound like a monster challenge to me.

The tough part is dealing with immature whiners and jerks and being constantly flamed, insulted, and attacked just for doing your job. Would it kill some of you people to show a little decency?

 

[MoosePilot]

I appreciate it. If expressing appreciation makes me a butt kisser *smooch*

 

[no-see-um]

Thank you Evodevo for preserving the integrity of the pre-allopathic forums. It's a tall task, but not for the frogman. 👍

 

[sacrament]

The tough part is dealing with immature whiners and jerks and being constantly flamed, insulted, and attacked just for doing your job. Would it kill some of you people to show a little decency?

If your "job" was to go door-to-door and kick people in the groin, you'd probably get a lot of insults and harassment. If your "job" was to go door-to-door and kick people in the groin, and you weren't even getting paid, you were just doing it because you wanted to, then you might get even more insults and harassment.

 

[lehavre]

I know some of the guests are just kidding, but I'd like to make a few serious point here...

Regarding volunteers: Everyone involved with SDN donates their time. As executive director of SDN, I don't get any money, the mods don't get anything either. We do it because we enjoy helping fellow student doctors.

Every mod at SDN at some point volunteered and was selected into the moderator family by other moderators. As founder, I am the only person that was not a former registered guest before becoming a mod.

Regarding donations: over the entire 2004 year, we received less in donations than it costs to run the site for 3 weeks; bandwidth and server maintenance is expensive. SDN does not actively solicit donations and we don't want students to feel pressured to donate (I was a poor student just a few years ago). However, we accept donations because there are a few students that want to donate to SDN.

About advertising: The pre-med and medical student market is not a significant profit center. The advertising dollars are slim -- you'll find only a few advertisers that have an interest in pre-med or med students... and those advertisers are small-fry advertisers. Big guns like Kaplan and TPR don't advertise on SDN because they don't need to -- they already dominate the market. A few years ago, there was a for-profit site, medschool.com, that learned this the hard-way. They quickly burned through a few million bucks and promptly went under.

Additionally, to ensure no conflict-of-interest, SDN does not accept school advertising. School ads that do appear on the site are served through Google, we do not have any relationship to these ads. This also decreases our sources of ad revenue.

SDN's overhead is supported primarily by CRG. CRG is a nonprofit educational organization governed by board-of-directors consisting of academic primary-care physicians from across the nation.

Do any of your moderators sit in or are in any way involved in the admissions committee selection process? If so, which schools? And if so, can we ask them to recuse themselves in the event they are present when we interview there?

Thanks,

 

[MoosePilot]

If your "job" was to go door-to-door and kick people in the groin, you'd probably get a lot of insults and harassment. If your "job" was to go door-to-door and kick people in the groin, and you weren't even getting paid, you were just doing it because you wanted to, then you might get even more insults and harassment.

Wow. If you opened a bookstore with book discussions moderated by volunteers, that would be more apt analogy. Here in cyberspace, real estate is relatively cheap. Open your own bookstore if you don't like the rules in this one.

 

[sacrament]

Every mod at SDN at some point volunteered and was selected into the moderator family by other moderators.

IMO this is a real problem (since, of course, IMO the moderating system is horribly broken). If the moderators pick moderators, then they pick people who are exactly like them.

If SDN absolutely must have moderators (which I disagree with), then rotating and random selection of moderators from among the established users would be best. With maybe a couple of perma-mods who do absolutely nothing other than remove material that cannot wait to be addressed (e.g. illegal pornography... but how often does that happen?)

 

[sacrament]

Wow. If you opened a bookstore with book discussions moderated by volunteers, that would be more apt analogy. Here in cyberspace, real estate is relatively cheap. Open your own bookstore if you don't like the rules in this one.

Everybody always says this without realizing how completely inane it is. Let's say I go into a bookstore and I like the place... I like the lighting and the book selection and the layout, except they don't have any chemistry books and that's what I'm after. So I say to an employee, "Hey, you don't have any chemistry books. You should think about getting some." And he yells at me, "OPEN YOUR OWN G-DAMN BOOKSTORE IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT!!!!"

I don't want to have my own internet forum. I obviously enjoy SDN or I wouldn't post so much here. But it has deep flaws. Are you saying I shouldn't point out these deep flaws unless I'm willing to address them by creating an entirely new forum myself? Is that supposed to make sense? Are you one of those people who tell folks to move to a different country if you hear them complaining about Bush?

 

[Psycho Doctor]

I know some of the guests are just kidding, but I'd like to make a few serious point here...

Regarding volunteers: Everyone involved with SDN donates their time. As executive director of SDN, I don't get any money, the mods don't get anything either. We do it because we enjoy helping fellow student doctors.

Every mod at SDN at some point volunteered and was selected into the moderator family by other moderators. As founder, I am the only person that was not a former registered guest before becoming a mod.

Regarding donations: over the entire 2004 year, we received less in donations than it costs to run the site for 3 weeks; bandwidth and server maintenance is expensive. SDN does not actively solicit donations and we don't want students to feel pressured to donate (I was a poor student just a few years ago). However, we accept donations because there are a few students that want to donate to SDN.

About advertising: The pre-med and medical student market is not a significant profit center. The advertising dollars are slim -- you'll find only a few advertisers that have an interest in pre-med or med students... and those advertisers are small-fry advertisers. Big guns like Kaplan and TPR don't advertise on SDN because they don't need to -- they already dominate the market. A few years ago, there was a for-profit site, medschool.com, that learned this the hard-way. They quickly burned through a few million bucks and promptly went under.

Additionally, to ensure no conflict-of-interest, SDN does not accept school advertising. School ads that do appear on the site are served through Google, we do not have any relationship to these ads. This also decreases our sources of ad revenue.

SDN's overhead is supported primarily by CRG. CRG is a nonprofit educational organization governed by board-of-directors consisting of academic primary-care physicians from across the nation.

awesome and thanks!! and i'd donate if i could do it other than going thru paypal, i never had an account and have no idea how to use it..can't i just send you a check from my parent's account (don't have my own checking account)?

 

[MoosePilot]

Everybody always says this without realizing how completely inane it is. Let's say I go into a bookstore and I like the place... I like the lighting and the book selection and the layout, except they don't have any chemistry books and that's what I'm after. So I say to an employee, "Hey, you don't have any chemistry books. You should think about getting some." And he yells at me, "OPEN YOUR OWN G-DAMN BOOKSTORE IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT!!!!"

I don't want to have my own internet forum. I obviously enjoy SDN or I wouldn't post so much here. But it has deep flaws. Are you saying I shouldn't point out these deep flaws unless I'm willing to address them by creating an entirely new forum myself? Is that supposed to make sense? Are you one of those people who tell folks to move to a different country if you hear them complaining about Bush?

Ok, so you're intending constructive criticism. If I go up to the bookstore employee and tell him he's a big jackass, how do you think he's going to respond? Probably tell you to get the hell out of his bookstore. Phrase your constructive criticism contructively and you'll get further. In this case, I don't think you're going to get far. You're proposing a complete remodeling job and I don't see the bookstore owner being interested, but maybe I'm wrong.

Are your questions supposed to be relevant? Is Bush part of this discussion? Are you French? (totally irrelevent stupid diversion, isn't it?)

 

[sacrament]

Ok, so you're intending constructive criticism. If I go up to the bookstore employee and tell him he's a big jackass, how do you think he's going to respond? Probably tell you to get the hell out of his bookstore. Phrase your constructive criticism contructively and you'll get further.

I have written entire threads, backed up with research, links, and articles (I'm not even kidding, do a search) about this topic. I have politely suggested multiple alternative forms of moderation, I have politely pointed out ways that other forums manage it, and in doing so I have received literally DOZENS of PMs from people who appreciate what I've had to say on the topic over the past year or so, but who didn't want to say anything themselves because (surprise surprise!) they didn't want to be on a mod hit-list. I've even had a couple of moderators express genuine interest in my ideas. And yeah, sometimes I flat-out make fun of the moderators who take their "job" way way too seriously, and I do so in a manner that isn't as constructive, because that's what I do. If you like the way things are ran and you want to sit on your ass and clap your hands and nay-say anybody who feels differently, then that's what you do.

In this case, I don't think you're going to get far. You're proposing a complete remodeling job and I don't see the bookstore owner being interested, but maybe I'm wrong.

A complete remodelling? You're kidding. This is a new coat of paint, at most. (But that's saying something when the old paint was mustard orange.)

 

[MoosePilot]

A complete remodelling? You're kidding. This is a new coat of paint, at most. (But that's saying something when the old paint was mustard orange.)

A new coat of paint? Who is going to pick the rotating mods (if that's the model you go with)? How do you insure it doesn't just become a clique that rotates, vs. a more long term clique? Why? What do you gain out of your proposed changes?

 

[Psycho Doctor]

IMO this is a real problem (since, of course, IMO the moderating system is horribly broken). If the moderators pick moderators, then they pick people who are exactly like them.

If SDN absolutely must have moderators (which I disagree with), then rotating and random selection of moderators from among the established users would be best. With maybe a couple of perma-mods who do absolutely nothing other than remove material that cannot wait to be addressed (e.g. illegal pornography... but how often does that happen?)

I have been on a board, created by posters who defected from another board b/c they disagreed with the board's moderation style. This new board had NO moderation. Let me tell you from personal experience what can happen when anything and everything is allowed to be posted.

Some of these posters broke into all my e-mail accounts (don't ask...yes i know i'm stupid). They posted all my personal information on the internet, including EXTREMELY personal letters and highly confidential information about myself, my family and other posters. They created a livejournal with my e-mails in it and posted the link on their board. They referenced other highly personal sites that I posted on and revealed some deeply personal and sensitive information to everyone. The creators sat there, allowed it to happen and even laughed at it and encouraged it despite my efforts to get them to delete it.

In addition the creators posted poster's IP addresses (just because they didn't like them) and identified when posters had multiple screen names even if done in fun. They allow posters to "out" other posters and post all their confidential information on their board.

Is this how you want this board to be run? I'll tell you emphatically that I do not. Taking away moderation allows a board to run rampant and while you have only immature, insenstive people on it who get their kicks by exposing and hurting others it will flourish. However such structure would render the board useless for mature professional people seeking valuable information. Think about it.

So thanks, mods for all your hard work to keep this site great! 😍

 

[MizzouDrWannabe]

I have been on a board, created by posters who defected from another board b/c they disagreed with the board's moderation style. This new board had NO moderation. Let me tell you from personal experience what can happen when anything and everything is allowed to be posted.

Some of these posters broke into all my e-mail accounts (don't ask...yes i know i'm stupid). They posted all my personal information on the internet, including EXTREMELY personal letters and highly confidential information about myself, my family and other posters. They created a livejournal with my e-mails in it and posted the link on their board. They referenced other highly personal sites that I posted on and revealed some deeply personal and sensitive information to everyone. The creators sat there, allowed it to happen and even laughed at it and encouraged it despite my efforts to get them to delete it.

In addition the creators posted poster's IP addresses (just because they didn't like them) and identified when posters had multiple screen names even if done in fun. They allow posters to "out" other posters and post all their confidential information on their board.

Is this how you want this board to be run? I'll tell you emphatically that I do not. Taking away moderation allows a board to run rampant and while you have only immature, insenstive people on it who get their kicks by exposing and hurting others it will flourish. However such structure would render the board useless for mature professional people seeking valuable information. Think about it.

So thanks, mods for all your hard work to keep this site great! 😍

GAH, now I'm all curious 😛

 

[BigRedPingpong]

IMO this is a real problem (since, of course, IMO the moderating system is horribly broken). If the moderators pick moderators, then they pick people who are exactly like them.

If SDN absolutely must have moderators (which I disagree with), then rotating and random selection of moderators from among the established users would be best. With maybe a couple of perma-mods who do absolutely nothing other than remove material that cannot wait to be addressed (e.g. illegal pornography... but how often does that happen?)

Totally agree. Sometimes I wonder with some of these mods, "how the hell do they pick these jackas*es." ...if the shoe fits...you know the rest.

 

[Psycho Doctor]

GAH, now I'm all curious 😛

trust me every word of it is true, but i'd rather not encourage people to that site.

 

[sacrament]

I have been on a board, created by posters who defected from another board b/c they disagreed with the board's moderation style. This new board had NO moderation. Let me tell you from personal experience what can happen when anything and everything is allowed to be posted.

Some of these posters broke into all my e-mail accounts (don't ask...yes i know i'm stupid). They posted all my personal information on the internet, including EXTREMELY personal letters and highly confidential information about myself, my family and other posters. They created a livejournal with my e-mails in it and posted the link on their board. They referenced other highly personal sites that I posted on and revealed some deeply personal and sensitive information to everyone. The creators sat there, allowed it to happen and even laughed at it and encouraged it despite my efforts to get them to delete it.

In addition the creators posted poster's IP addresses (just because they didn't like them) and identified when posters had multiple screen names even if done in fun. They allow posters to "out" other posters and post all their confidential information on their board.

Is this how you want this board to be run? I'll tell you emphatically that I do not. Taking away moderation allows a board to run rampant and while you have only immature, insenstive people on it who get their kicks by exposing and hurting others it will flourish. However such structure would render the board useless for mature professional people seeking valuable information. Think about it.

So thanks, mods for all your hard work to keep this site great! 😍

How in the world do you think that, sans moderators, SDNers are going to break into your account, find your e-mail address, find your IP address, etc.? How do you think the moderators are keeping these bizarre events from happening to you? Do you think that, without EvoDevo around, sacrament somehow gains the power to read your PMs and whatnot?

 

[sacrament]

A new coat of paint? Who is going to pick the rotating mods (if that's the model you go with)?

Nobody would pick them, go read what I said again.

What do you gain out of your proposed changes?

A moderation system that shows accountability. Right now, who watches the watchmen? But if your reign of power was limited in nature, and next week you were back among the "little people," maybe you'd be more likely to wield that power with a degree of restraint and reflection.

 

[MoosePilot]

Nobody would pick them, go read what I said again.



A moderation system that shows accountability. Right now, who watches the watchmen? But if your reign of power was limited in nature, and next week you were back among the "little people," maybe you'd be more likely to wield that power with a degree of restraint and reflection.

You said "random". I assume you mean to program a computer to randomly pick mods out of a pool of anyone with more than x time registered or more than x posts?

The guy who starts the site and runs it picks the mods. I think that makes sense. The guy who invested time, work, and money in the site picks the volunteers to help him. Since they're his picks, they keep the atmosphere like he likes it. With investment comes "power".

 

[LauraMac]

i think the mods delete way too much stuff and move way too much stuff. i appreciate the volunteer work of everyone, but EVO moves like 5 million threads a day and stickies all kinds of unecessary stuff just cause he feels like it.

i like the random moderator idea. i think having no moderators is a bad idea, but anyone with over 1000 posts, for example, should have the random chance to be a moderator.

 

[MWillie]

It's the same three people supporting each other.

 

[EvoDevo]

1) I am not the ONLY mod who moderates PA. Many other mods can and do come to this forum to move/delete threads. This is because PA is the most heavily trafficked forum on SDN.

2) Threads are deleted only if they specifically violate SDN TOS: sexually related stuff, advertisements, harassment of other members, and so on.

3) The purpose of PA is for the discussion of pre-med and medically related topics. Sorry folks but it's NOT the Lounge or the EVeryone forum and most of those threads are moved to the appropriate forum by me or other mods as appropriate.

4) I have said repeatedly that PA is your forum, however. If users have problems either with my moderation style or specific instances of moderator actiivity, they are fully welcome to PM me with said problem. It happens everyday and most folks are helped out without a hitch. I have re-opened/moved back threads at the request of the OP and I've closed/moved/deleted them at the request of the OP too.

5) It's not a dictatorship here despite what some of you may believe. I have always striven to earn the respect of the members of this board above all. However, one cannot please everyone all of the time, and as a result some will perceive my actions as heavy-handed.

Finally, I know that some of you will not believe a word of what I've said. You'll believe that I AM in it for the power and the glory. However, I doubt that more than a handful of you have actually been in a position of real-life leadership and responsibility before. (Some have, no doubt). Make no mistake, being a moderator is not easy and certainly not "fun." But I do it because I care about the direction of this forum and because I'm here to help people out.

In summary, if you have a problem then send me a PM. We can discuss it. If you'd like to see something changed around here (except for the moderation scheme. That's prolly not gonna happen) then let me know. I will NEVER ban someone for speaking their minds around here so let's dispense with the BS about "OMG I'd better not speak out or the mods will ban me." Not going to happen. Not here. Get it? Even though there are some individuals who really upset me, I believe that they have a right to express dissent all the same.

Carry on, people.

 

[liverotcod]

Since this is becoming almost a confidence-vote thread (even though SDN isn't a democracy) I figure I'd better add my opinion.

I have been happy with the moderation throughout SDN. I enjoy the on-task tone of pre-allo. I also enjoy playing around in the Lounge. I don't much like political discussion, so I avoid Everyone. It's all my choice.

Everyone here is a human (I'm pretty sure) and makes mistakes. I think that the good move / mistake ratio on SDN is pretty high.

 

[Khenon]

1) I am not the ONLY mod who moderates PA. Many other mods can and do come to this forum to move/delete threads. This is because PA is the most heavily trafficked forum on SDN.

2) Threads are deleted only if they specifically violate SDN TOS: sexually related stuff, advertisements, harassment of other members, and so on.

3) The purpose of PA is for the discussion of pre-med and medically related topics. Sorry folks but it's NOT the Lounge or the EVeryone forum and most of those threads are moved to the appropriate forum by me or other mods as appropriate.

4) I have said repeatedly that PA is your forum, however. If users have problems either with my moderation style or specific instances of moderator actiivity, they are fully welcome to PM me with said problem. It happens everyday and most folks are helped out without a hitch. I have re-opened/moved back threads at the request of the OP and I've closed/moved/deleted them at the request of the OP too.

5) It's not a dictatorship here despite what some of you may believe. I have always striven to earn the respect of the members of this board above all. However, one cannot please everyone all of the time, and as a result some will perceive my actions as heavy-handed.

Finally, I know that some of you will not believe a word of what I've said. You'll believe that I AM in it for the power and the glory. However, I doubt that more than a handful of you have actually been in a position of real-life leadership and responsibility before. (Some have, no doubt). Make no mistake, being a moderator is not easy and certainly not "fun." But I do it because I care about the direction of this forum and because I'm here to help people out.

In summary, if you have a problem then send me a PM. We can discuss it. If you'd like to see something changed around here (except for the moderation scheme. That's prolly not gonna happen) then let me know. I will NEVER ban someone for speaking their minds around here so let's dispense with the BS about "OMG I'd better not speak out or the mods will ban me." Not going to happen. Not here. Get it? Even though there are some individuals who really upset me, I believe that they have a right to express dissent all the same.

Carry on, people.

Evo, how you put up with this **** is beyond me. I don't envy you, but thanks all the same. Take care.