"...Moderators will have to make a judgement call occasionally..."
Absolutely, just as laws need to be interpreted! Yet, we should surely have the guidelines/laws first, and then also the wise folks willing to interpret and enforce them, IMHO!
"...That's why it's important for moderators to have a private area where they can discuss issues among themselves. Moderation tends to promote self government by consensus, and there will be decisions you may well disagree with..."
Yes, perhaps so! I trust your judgement in general!
"...I believe you have stated elsewhere to the effect that it's a big job and not enough people will want to do it..."
Yes and no!
Yes, it's a really big job!
Perhaps a bit too big for me!
No, I
never stated that not enough others would be willing!
I just prefer personally to be as totally impartial and even somewhat detached from the "governing" and as a moderator, if I'd ever have benn asked and were to have accepted, it would be rather difficult and perhaps impossible! FWIW, I don't want to be a police officer, a judge, or president either!
Moderator(s) should be extremely careful to only address
real problems! There must be great care to insure NO personal bias.
Who will they be? How are these moderators to be selected? What do they do? What are the specifically stated guidelines? What would Randy & Co do, if anything, in realtion to them?
Again, this can sometimes be an extraordinarily tough job at times, just as it will likely prove to be effortless and even boring at other times. An impartial, effective moderator is a fine idea, but no moderator is still a better choice than a less than objective, ineffective one.
"...and to work in consultation with Randy's people. I want to make Randy's life easier by filtering a lot of the griping before it ever gets to him..."
We may well actually agree on this more than we disagree. I felt that if there are to be moderators that they should perhaps be on Randy's staff and be truly "official". That they have clout and are respected is the issue. I too would love to help ease things for Randy! yet, I don't know about just a half hour or so per day!
Recall what Randy had said earlier regarding moderators:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum97/HTML/000324.html