Though honestly whether it was in jest or not you really shouldn't call someone a troll.

No offence but I think that you giving an infraction to VGA for calling someone a troll and ignoring someone calling VGA a trollis a little bias (though I see why you closed the thread it was getting kind of ridiculus).

Edit: After seeing Blaiser's apology post im ok but I still think that you shouldn't condone something like that even if it is jest

I just wanted to point this out... but now I feel that I've mistakenly derailed the thread, sorry all!

It's good to see Typhon is doing well! I know some people had expressed concern over not seeing him recently. I'm rather new to the forums so I'm still learning who does what and where and why, but it's nice to have so many people dedicated to such a great game. Like I said above, if whoever is in charge of the realms trusted me I'd be happy to input data for the units during my off time. I understand it's more of an inside job though

To be honest, I was joking once in the Political forum about being a troll, and I was clearly joking, and said I was joking later in the thread, as I stuck around and kept up with the debate.

And I received an infraction for it.

It's done and it's the past, but it did happen.

But I digress, as I don't want to get off topic. The mods are here to do a job, and I respect them for it. We all make mistakes, posters and mods alike, but it's those that learn from those mistakes and work towards not making them again. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

Without moderators, as I said before, the Realms would de-evolve into nothing but trolling, flame wars, chaos and anarchy. (such as the Craig's List rants) So I thank HCRealms for having as many moderators as they do, and for the help that many moderators have afforded us.

Especially because the proper nomenclature is "troller".

But, hey, if people want to sound like n00bs...

Ok quick question: so the mods and admins are volunteers. Who makes the $$ from HCRealms??

Mods are volunteers

I am not sure how admins take care of things

Also, Thank you for everyone's appreciation!!!!

edit: I was very happy to see this thread. Then I wake up in the morning and see it was derailed by some people. I am not going to lie when I say that I was severely pissed off about it. It had no business being in the thread and no bearing in the conversation at all.

Think before you write/speak

People need to take the time and think about how other people have helped them and thank them once in a while. I am not just talking about us mods, I mean everyone in life. All that it takes is a little thank you, or an explanation of how their assistance helped you and your appreciation for it. If you can't take it seriously, then don't bother.

Boo and Yah, together again!

Regarding the mods who have helped me on the Realms, so many times:

DemonRS
Phantalien
Quebbster
Andrewtarius

and especially KitsuShel. She has been awesome, polite, and always goes above and beyond in her duties as a moderator.

Thanks to all of you for the help you have given me in the past.

a very wise investor...

Really??

Of the 6 infractions I see... only one is in the political forum which you didn't get the infraction for calling someone a troll in jest.

And they are all logged.. So... are you sure you're talking about HCR here?

No, I got the infraction because I said I was popping my head in, getting the hornet's nest stirred up, then leaving. It was in jest. A few posts later Quebbster said at least you were admitting being a troll, and he gave me an infraction for it.

I was just joking, and I stuck around to keep up with the discussion / debate.

Here is the infraction I got:

And here is Quebbster's reply:

But I wasn't trolling. I was just jesting.

But this off-topic, and we should discuss this in PMs if you like.

Important safety tip: Online, what you say in jest doesn't always work. As you well know.

This is off topic, but you going on about how you were given infractions about trolling wasn't? Dude - is there a single thread that you can't find a way to make about you? Wait, I know the answer to that. No.

While I agree with your basic sentiment, I must disagree with some of it as well. But much of that has to do with my personal experiences as a volunteer.

I've worked as a "volunteer" in many functions. But, in more than one function, I volunteer in situations where my primary responsibility is the life and safety of hundreds of people.

In those situations, debate rages between a few factions within the volunteer community. Some members often say things like "We shouldn't have to be bothered with doing X because we are just volunteers." This implies to me that if we were being paid, doing X would be something we could/should/would do, but somehow, volunteer status mitigates our responsibilities.

I, personally, object to this line of thinking. If you're going to do a job, do it well. Whether you are being paid for it or not matters not. You agreed to do the job. And your word should be your bond.

That said, anyone who does something that benefits you should be appreciated. I think most people do not often realize how many people work for their benefit on a daily basis.

I've also been working with children for, well, way too long. In schools, they often have a unit on "community helpers" and I find the whole concept laughable because they start out with the most obvious (Fire and Rescue, Police, etc.) and then stray far afield. I wonder where the line is drawn. Is the line when you get paid? Is the line when you stop being paid by a government? Is the line when you get paid by the private sector? Is the line when you get paid DECENTLY by the private sector? Ugh.

Near where I live there is a Chipotle. Actually now, there are many. But there used to be just this one. Just across the way from the Chipotle there was a HUGE computer warehouse site. It had retail, and corporate offices. It was quite a boon to the local economy. The line at Chipotle was out the door every day and many of the people in the line were from the computer place which brought people to work there, brought in tax revenue, and the people who worked there bought food at Chipotle, which also brought in tax revenue. That tax revenue paid for the facilites and the equipement of the local groups that people would usually consider "community helpers".

Was the guy who made my tacos at Chipotle a "community helper"? In my world? Totally.

Maybe it would help if everyone kept in mind that those who service a particular community are not a nameless homogenous group, but people; people who are (hopefully) doing their best, but also subject to the character flaws that all people share in the same way that all people share and have a stake in any given community.

(Clipped to save space)

I fully understand what you're saying. A person who's a Red Cross volunteer at a disaster scene assumes a level a responsibility that is no where near the level of responsibility a Mod/Admin here on the Realms has.

But both *are* volunteers and people sometimes forget that they are giving up the one resource that they'll never get back - time. In a disaster, people are taking time from their family and loved ones to help other families. Sometimes they do it even though they've gone through the same crisis as the rest of their community.

HCR volunteers may be giving up time playing their favorite game, just to provide the site to us. In both cases, they deserve at least a word of praise now and then. And I think a bit more here - since people are more than willing to bash them without knowing what's going on in their lives.

Very good point. I "volunteer" as a HeroClix judge, but since I'm not being "paid", should I not take my job seriously and only do a half-### job? Of course not. No matter what you do, give it 100% or don't do it. I live by that at work and home, and in leisure (as a HeroClix judge).