uh-oh...

For those of you who aren't aware, I'm a mod on a yahoogroup of about three thousand people. Since it's a group for INFPs and therefore introverts, there's only about twenty active members at any one time.

There's six other mods, but they're all off finding themselves :p (MBTI joke! Whoot!) Actually, one just got married and is besotted, another's gone back to school, I don't know WHAT's going on with Mark, and Sherrin's recovering from major surgery.

This leaves me. The youngest mod. The quiet, behind-the-scenes-spam-deleting-mod. (Three of our mods are actually ENFPs. This all makes sense, somehow...)

And today we got religious oriented spam: "Christmas 2003 - a discussion on our Lord Jesus Christ"

Deleted.

But oh, dear, it started a debate, and one of the list members (while a very good person) is a very cynical nihilist (all religion is bad and logically flawed, ergo anyone who believes this *beep* is an idiot), and one's a pagan, and another's a Baptist... *sigh* And all watched over by me, a scientific pantheist who's listed on the Canadian census as a Jedi and not as a joke, either... (The Force corresponds very closely to my theory of the universe, so I adopted it.)

It's been very interesting so far, and nobody's gotten openly angry, but again, this is an introvert list and someone got pretty quiet. I've sent out emails to the one who's gone quiet (to make sure she's okay) and to the cynic (to remind him that it's okay to argue as bluntly as he likes to with me, because I don't personally mind, but there are some people on the list who are a whole lot more sensitive, and to be careful.)

*worries*

But I have to go to bed soon, and they're all in a different timezone, and normally that's okay because the mods are very spread out geographically, but right now it's just me.

It's a good list, I think the last time we had to really work was a year ago.

But this is SUCH a touchy issue.

Oh dear, oh dear...

*direct quote from cynic's response to my email*

>Ok look, I'll be careful not to offend anybody, but really it's up to those
>people what they get offended by.

>I have a direct way of speaking because I am very direct,and if I'm
>debating religion, well you can't debate anything if you believe that ONLY
>your beliefs can be true.
>
>Hey, I'm open to have my mind changed, just please do it logically.
>
>The reason I'm so set on logic is because not believing logic is irrational.
>Really, it is.
>
>I feel for all of you who want to believe in something just because it's
>your gut instinct, and that's fine, but it's also not a compelling argument
>to believe anything at all.
...
>I'm not saying anybody's beliefs are garbage, but if you come up with loony
>beliefs without any evidence to defend them, you can be expected to be
>treated at least with somewhat of a humoring tone. "

oh dear. Oh dear.

Well, at least he's said he'll try to be tactful. The reason I'm not offended is I know this guy - but he's been lurking recently, so the other thread participants don't know him, and they might take directness for rudeness.

(Added to which, the 'I won't call it garbage, just loony' thing is not a good sign,)

Seriously... do not attack an INFP's beliefs.

So I went to bed, because i had to... and yup, I wake up in the morning and check and someone's crying and someone's screaming and someone's name-calling and three people have gone quiet...

Cynic's now on moderation, and I've pointed out that logically, it would make more sense to tailor his method of speaking to his audience if he wants them to listen to him. (Ie - use some tact.)

I don't need this. I don't want to squash the thread, because it HAS been interesting and a lot of people are involved in it... but I will if it degenerates much further.

I HATE spam.

*sigh*

So of course, the minute any moderator actually moderates, we get angry emails about censorship.

It's moderated community. Says so right on the front page. They agreed to it when they signed up.

*sigh*

(no subject)

And now it's all gone pear-shaped and the list members involved are angry with me and I don't know what to do...

*whimper*

(no subject)

So now I'm "a patron hanging a sword over our
heads if we don't play the way you like."