To Mod, Or Not To Mod

Last night, on the InSessions message boards, Current Crimes forum, Michelle Young thread, the moderator (and I use the term loosely), posted the following message:

Originally posted by Coldwater
Anyone who is trying their best to start trouble and get this topic closed, be brave enough to sign a post below.
Annonymous names are so easy to bait with and not own up to anything, but even annonymous names can be honest most times.
Whose it going to be??? And don't say someone else is, just sign if YOU are.

PS: I won't ban if you got the nerve.

several people misinterpreted the post, and responded with criticism of the way the board is moderated (again, using the term loosely). After she had garnered a page or two of responses, she came back with this:

Coldwater
Administrator

Registered: Aug 2002
Location:
Posts: 420
I think that went exceed well.

Who's pulling the wool over whose eyes??

None of you know anything about banning, etc.
Why? Because none of you see the reports I receive.
Yep, buddies on here are enemies behind their backs.
This has been a joy for me seeing these posts and then seeing the same names in reports "telling on" those they defend on here.
Why were those posters banned, well, I can't read all the posts on all the forums on both boards so it's YOUR OWN REPORTS about them that got them banned.

Now, time to start a new thread and stay ON TOPIC.

Thanks for proving to me what I thought.

Several people tried to start a new thread, only to have it deleted. "No new threads," she said.

Right.

The moderation on that forum has become a joke. She admitted she bans whoever anyone complains about, she admitted she doesn't read the threads where the trouble is.

When Michelle Young was first murdered, there were quite a few shell-shocked people posting at IS (CourtTV, at that time), who knew Jason and Michelle Young. They had good information and personal knowledge of the case. After a while, with no arrest, the discussion deteriorated, and those who knew the principals in the case were accused of everything under the sun, insulted and threatened, to the point where they got tired of the headache and went away. At least one had her job threatened right there on the public forum, by an anonymous poster. There are a few of the attackers who have been banned and returned with a different nickname.

Still, they return, unrepentant and still threatening, insulting and attacking. When the victims react, the victims get banned.

I haven't read other forums at IS; just the Michelle Young one.

Now I'm on a "time out," and I have no idea why. That's when you have to log out to even see the forum you were posting on. And, logged out, I can't post.

At least I'm not banned.

There are still people there who wondered if my husband's family was aware that I went to plays and to dinner with friends shortly after his death. How did they find out about that? I told them. We were discussing the 911 call made by Michelle's sister when she found her body and her daughter, and we were discussing appropriate social choices while grieving.

I think it's time for a new Moderator at InSessions. One who will actually do the job. Actually, I think there should be several. It's a massive site, and I should not be surprised that one person can't keep reading every thread in every forum, looking for Terms of Service violations.