The problem with being any sort of administrator in a friendly community, is sometimes you have to put on the admin hat when someone gets out of line. It’s especially frustrating because more often then not, the person who has created the offense takes it personally. To create a comfortable environment for everyone you must set up some rules of conduct, and sometimes those arent things you can write down in the rules. Do I want to make a rule in #13thHour that you can never mention sex? No, because then people will be paranoid about joking around, or having something being taken the wrong way. Is there a line that people should learn not to cross when touching this subject? Yes. At the end of the day I want everyone who comes in there to feel comfortable… not to be afraid to speak their mind, but contributing funny, kind, intelligent conversation.
This is just an example (and what prompted me to make this little rant). I have encountered many situations before, and I hate dealing with them because people tend to just leave when they feel they have offended. Do I want them to? Of course not, but it’s my responsibility to deal with problems. I try to be as nice as possible, but it almost always is taken the wrong way. What DO I expect when I express concern over behavior? Just stop it. Once I asked a girl in the room to turn off her mp3 script because the colors were obnoxiously annoying, she left for weeks because she was so upset. Why was she so upset? It was a script, it annoyed people, I asked her to turn it off… She ended up crying and thinking I hated her… that *I* HATED HER! Because I asked her to turn off her mp3 script… another example? A chatter was continually using foul language. Now do I want to make a rule that you can’t swear? Absolutely not, I swear from time to time, I dont want people to lack freedom… But using offensive language so often, for no reason, is unacceptable.
*sigh*
There is a fine line between being a good admin and becoming an over-aggressive one. *wanders off*