Are EVC moderators the new thought police...

Here is a comment from one admin... (using my normal posting identity)This approvals system is an experiment. It has taken a bit of time to iron out some glitches, and there are still a couple of outstanding problems (mainly from the perspective of admins). The problem of closed threads in the message list is still not fully resolved; but it is a lot better than it was.My perspective is that it has been mostly a success; but I am very interested to hear criticisms. I am not sure exactly what RingoKid sees as the main problem.On the one hand, there is the time delay factor. That problem will most likely remain. Depending on the time of day, it will take anything from a few minutes to several hours or more before a thread is reviewed.On the other hand, there is the question of thought control.The main reason for rejecting posts is violation of forum rules. Another effect is that new posts get a bit of formatting feedback before coming on-line. I'd really like to hear more from people who have had a new thread delayed for a while while they make some changes. Has this is a nuisance? Or have you appreciated the chance to make the suggested changes?I'm not aware of a serious problem with moderators enforcing what people should think. I am very much against any such effect. On the other hand, I have recently rejected a topic which was simply not relevant to any of the main forums or to anything associated with evolution/creationism; this is a slightly different matter and I thing nipping such distractions in the bud is a benefit.Cheers -- Sylas

I see your point; but I'm not actually sure it is really happening like that. Most moderators try to be encouraging of newbies; and the post approval system has potential to be a real help to get their topics off to a good start. Moderators are actually more gentle with badly presented material than the regular users, in many cases. One of the reasons for introducing this idea was a perceived problem with new low quality threads.There is also a potential problem with users who register for the sake of making a topic on their own pet hobby horse, but who are not actually likely to stick around. Slowing down the approval of such posts is a big plus, in my opinion.It may be no bad thing for newbies to join in for a while as regular posters before they start posting new threads. Of course, that is not a restriction. Any new user can submit a topic anytime.PS. You can use the edit button to see the original source of any message, including tags added to white out a block of text. Dragging mouse over blocked text to highlight it may also reveal what is best unseen. Thanks to rocket for alerting us to a problem in the permission restrictions system. I think it may be fixed now. It will be hard to test, since he has just been banned completely (again), though not by me, after a post in another forum indicating that he still does not understand the guidelines at all.Cheers -- SylasThis message has been edited by Sylas, 05-10-2004 12:34 AM