Oh dear I've upset somebody...

* Takes a sip of her coffee..... "Next!!"

( You just can't keep everyone happy I guess.) (takes off her mod hat).

I have been here for yonks (on and off), and I have to admit that I enjoy being here. I'm not trying to defend the forum, nor the actions of the mods. Everyone here knows that MLF is a great forum and awesome community.

That would make us an excellent target, because of how quickly posts are indexed and also the fact that when someone searches for a post, its generally listed high on the searches. Sour grapes much? Or was it that they thought they could intimidate themselves into the forum just so that they could selflessly flog their own marketing campaigns without thought for the community around them?

(puts her mod hat back on )

I wouldn't ever bother with any explanation; it usually only serves to allow them to argue more, rather than take in what you have taken the time to explain to them. Bottom line is, most users want to behave however they like on your website, and when you pull them up and tell them what you do and more importantly, don't allow on your website, they get the hump on.

Oh and even ore bizarre, it's obvious the forum owner created the rules not the mods, yet when the mods follow the rues and apply them, the member gets the hump on with the mod! Why don't they ever write and complain to the forum owner about their rules? Do they really think a bunch of mods gets to run a forum how they want to? Mods that ignore the forum owners rules?

They wouldn't really be mods if they didn't follow the forum creator's rules, but I get it . From what I have seen so far, most times its the mod that gets it the most, and people think that because they can't intimidate the Admin/forum owner, they will try it with the mods and see if they can get something out of it all.

I mod at another forum as well, and they run competitions every now and then, and that's when things really get out of hand. You get multiple accounts, post counting and people going as far as outsourcing people (to get higher points for referrals) to help them win the competition (all against the rules), and when they are caught out, its the mod that banned them that gets the most flack. Our admin on that forum shared emails from the members that were banned and to tell you the truth its downright scary how nasty some people can get, simply because they were caught out doing something wrong, and feel they deserve the right to keep doing what they want to regardless of any rules.

I have been surprised how some people can become so nasty or downright rude and unprofessional. It gives you an insight as to how these people must really be at home/work. They clearly cannot communicate a disagreement effectively. They start hissing, swearing, threatening...and don't realise how silly they look and how they have suddenly lost all credibility from the forum and the mods.

Also, we have always known that when certain people are caught out, or picked up on a fault, their reaction to being confronted is to react with anger in order to deflect it back on to others.

The only justice we have is proving them wrong, and it shows the members what the person is capable of. We have a few in the hall of fame, but to be honest, its not something I enjoy doing, and its no fun being caught in that situation either. But, its part of the job description, and something no one will ever be able to change. The best thing is, when you're part of a good forum like this one, and someone throws their toys out the cot and publicly flames the forum, people will also know that they are being silly, especially our members.

I agree, 99 times out of 100 its a standard response and then ignored, but I guess I got a bit baited this time I actually found the responses quite bizarre and funny which is why I thought I'd share them.

You are right though, it can be quite surprising how some people react to a comment they don't like, which to be fair we very rarely have here, but it can be rife in other forums.

I'm very anti the pack instinct as well which can be a forum curse. A good debate can be one thing, even heated debate, but when it starts turning nasty with multiple people sticking the knives in, it's time to bail.

As you say highly unprofessional, especially on something that is badged as a business forum.

If any members have got the hump or said anything derogatory to any our mods, make sure you let me know! That's not something I will stand for. I'm not that hard to track down if anyone's got an axe to grind