A moderator is not a bad thing. A controlling centralized reviewer,
automated or human, is one way to keep the discussion on track. With a
moderator, theoretically, a thread about Phalaenopsis culture would only
have info about Phalaenopsis culture even if it were conflicting info. A
personal attack on a person who grows Phalaenopsis differently might be
returned to me by the moderator with a note asking it to be re-written to
express my own experiences and Phal culture tips without reference to the
other grower. My goal in writing my comments in the first place might need
to be re-evaluated if I wish to see them posted on the moderated forum.

What the new moderator of the AOS forum does with this power will reveal
*their* goal. Do they want only to keep the discussion civil or are they
going to allow only THEIR view of good culture info to be posted. How they
moderate will determine if the forum is worth using.

A moderator is not possible here in rgo because there is no way to reproduce
a controlling centralized reviewer. I don't think there is anyway.

As far as I can see, all of the other forums ABOUT ORCHIDS on the internet ,
except this one, belong to somebody or to some organization. Freedom of
speech (the constitutionally protect type) has a counter balancing principle
in this ownership. It is likely within the rights of the individuals or
organizations who own and operate the forum to decide what gets posted in
their domain. One does not have unlimited freedom of speech in a private
domain, except as it is afforded by the owners of that domain. You can not
publish on my website what I do not want you to say, especially if you
depend on me to put it there.

Carry this counter balancing principle and it's relationship to the first
amendment to a certain level and the supreme court may get involved because
even at this level we do not have unlimited freedom of speech. But we are
not at this level when we talk about orchids in a public or private forum.
To put it bluntly it is just banal for me to bring up the first amendment in
an orchid forum because somebody with the ability to stop me from being an
asshole does so.

And as an inflammatory aside: moderated or not, I may still feel like
nobody likes me when I try to interact and do not get the response I want.
Even if somebody answers my question this feeling is mine and is not the
responsibility of anyone on the forum to alleviate. It is especially
important for me to realize that "no response" could have any one of a
thousand meanings or reasons and to ask myself why I narrow it down to one
that causes me to feel bad. It is very nice of people who make it a habit
to look out for the feelings of other posters to the group, but I think it
is important for me to realize that my feelings sometimes come from inside
me for reasons that others do not have much control over.

And I think the same thing applies when something I read feels like it
pushed my buttons. They are my buttons. I think a good strategy in these
forums is to keep my buttons and what they do to me private and I believe if
it appears that the button being pushed does nothing then maybe the people
pushing it will give up. My feelings and my responses to my feelings are
mine to control.

I would like to draw people's attention to their 'honor' button and to set
them the chore of watching how this button on others, when it is pushed, can
make them behave. These orchid newsgroups and lists have some wonderful
examples of honor buttons gone mad. It is interesting to observe how much
damage a person can appear to do to their own honor in the name of defending
it.

Okay. I guess I have put off repotting long as I can and haven't even said
anything interesting during the procrastination...