Personally, I have no interest in having discussions with people who nitpick details and look for loose ends to pull apart a thread. Generally speaking, if I see something that's factually incorrect, I might provide a statement or opinion to clarify things as I see it. For me, it wasn't the clowning trolls, but the vicious trolls who ruined this place. People who enjoyed belittling others, presumably because they're unhappy with their own place in the order of life. I will say "thats stupid" to cut through the noise, but it is usually without malice. I won't spend inordinate amounts of time pounding away at a topic just to provide entertainment for a twisted shithead.
I have no idea what the status of other mods is, like Blackie's situation is completely new news to me, as of this very moment. I found out BJ left when it said "guest" under his name. I don't spend any time under the hood, looking through profiles. Unless I have a damn good reason.
So the assertions of a mod squad is complete bullshit, at least from my chair. I don't communicate with any of 'em, except for John and Mike on FB occasionally. And when I do, this place usually isn't mentioned much, if at all. Shaw is only limited by his willingness to participate, like myself.
When the last flare-up occurred, I simply used a 1-2 combination of strategic trolling and creative use of the tool kit provided to mods. Nobody liked it, but it drove the point home: If you can say what you want unrestrained, so can I. Thats not bullying, that was a direct result of people arguing that they can say or do anything. It made them realize, maybe being banned was the appropriate action on a public forum. After all, thats the method employed on every other public forum in the known universe. ...Including the sister-forums like FK and all the other Porc boards.
The purpose of this forum is to accompany FTL interactively with listeners and give the listening audience a place to congregate, exchange ideas, meet one another and interact. Its other purpose is to generate revenue for the show. It is NOT a place to push the limits of legality, endanger the safety of the owner, or belittle people for their differences, ethnicities, sexuality, religions, or philosophies. That, and the fighting is - I believe - what drives people away.
When you give people a place that welcomes all, without prejudice, you will get a more diverse crowd. Generally speaking, people typically want some sort of behavioral limits. They do not want to see graphic pics unexpectedly or blatantly racist attacks on people who are different in some way. Its just not cool, and it doesn't belong here. Its called "hate speech" for a reason.
Granted, the social media explosion is taking large chunks of traffic away from here. However, there will always be people who want to express their opinions in long-form, away from their Facebook personae which is usually a little more reserved due to its direct association with their actual life.
For what it's worth, I exchanged a few PM's with a black dude who recently re-joined the forum. I told him a few of the people who used to rag his ass and bait him into arguments are no longer here, and we've tightened up the policy regarding bigotry, and will enforce it. He seemed pleased and said something to the effect of that shit was out of control. So, for that alone, I know it was worth the effort.
You may now return to your virtually unmoderated conversation, already in progress. Have a nice day.