[cheat-master30]

12) This site is going downhill!

...Because you're making it do so, idiot! No one cares if you think the site is going downhill. If you seriously believe this, why are you still here?! Go away and post about it elsewhere, or better yet, don't!

Ha, I agree with this one. [/quote]

Heh, vBulletin.org probably gets this twice a week now. Sorry, couldn't resist saying that based on many of the complaints in the site feedback forum here.

As you can probably guess, I also know the person who wrote the article, and while I don't agree with every point in the article or every point you've mentioned, I do have a few guesses to the reasoning behind and a few responses to your points.

5) Abuse of the dispute system

I've moderated a few sites with a dispute system, and what new moderators will quickly discover is that people abuse it and act like idiots through it. I have actually gotten a dispute saying this: "WTF DUH I DUH"... ...Abusing something meant to help the members of the forum out doesn't sit well with me, nor does it sit well with any other vet to moderating. Don't do it. That's all I have to say.

It's one thing to punish someone for harassing moderators over a dispute system, but to punish them for saying something like "WTF DUH I DUH" is just internet tough guy behavior.

This was probably added due to people thinking the dispute system was a reply system, as has been the case a whole lot on my own site with the visitor messages and reports. For example, there's only so much:

Hello!

As a report reason when it should be a reply, despite clearly labelled icons and a warning message on the page before you mention something about it.

11) Leaving topics without good reason
If you have real-life things that make you have to leave, or an extremely good reason why you're leaving, don't make a post about it. It causes controversy, drama, and above all, it causes the moderators headaches.

How does it cause drama to say you're leaving for real life reasons?

Probably due to quite a few members who end up writing a huge 'site going downhill' rant along with the 'I'm leaving' part, claiming the forum is corrupt then returning two days later as if nothing happened. I've known people do this like, five times in a row. Not much a problem if it's a real reason rather than complaining, but the latter is usually more likely.

10) THIS SITE SUCKS!

Then don't go to it. I don't bloody care if you think that a blank site is better than the one you're spamming with your complaints. If you don't like the way the site is ran or if you don't like the content, then leave and do us all a favor in doing so.

I agree for the most part, but there's a difference between being disruptive and constructive criticism.

True, constructive criticism is more useful, but it's also rather rare in these cases.