{Note: all uses of the word "you" below are addressed to the rhetorical "you" and not the original poster.}
Who was Joe? That's a very good question.
Joe was the Original Mod. He had a short fuse and a long arm when it came to the banhammer. If you got banned, there was a good chance he'd tell you why, though sometimes the reason why was merely, "Don't be a dick."
The thing was, it worked because it was possible then for him to know everybody, or just about, on the board. So he could tell the difference between a troll being a troll and Khell being Khell. And we knew him, and so once in a while he'd take a swat at someone for something relatively minor, but we'd know that was just Joe being Joe.
The thing is, there are too many people around here for the mods to really know everyone anymore. This place has gone from being a small town to being a big city, and the chief of police can't know everyone by their first name any more.
Now, back to the original question, because this ties in--if the mods can no longer get to know everyone on the boards, and they HAVE to read all sorts of stuff, not just the stuff they like, then it's going to be harder for other people on the boards to get to know you too.
So what do you do? Well, we are going to have to start doing a better job of modding ourselves. There's a report button. Use it. There's a search forums button in the top right of this page, yes this page right here, right above where it says "Page 1, 2" at the top. Don't duplicate recent threads, not because it makes the compulsive DejaNazis twitch when they see double, but because it makes it harder for new conversations with new people to be seen. Someone giving you a hard time, or something the mods ought to be keeping an eye on? Tell them in PM.
Keep the board clean and it will be easier to be seen.
The other thing is, if you want to be known, know people. The friends feature in your profile lets you keep track of what the people in your list have posted recently. Put some people on your list, read their posts, and respond to them--with something you put genuine thought or effort into. QFT is nice for validation, but it doesn't tell anything about you. If you want to read, be readable. If you want to be responded to, respond.
And then there is the third thing to keep in mind. Sometimes you go to a really popular, fun place and you don't have any fun. It happens. Maybe The Escapist isn't the place for you. Hell, I'm coming up on double-gonzo and sometimes it's not the place for me.
I haven't been a newfag (I just threw up in my mouth a little...) for a long time, and I hope I never become a jaded oldfag--I'm a jaded old dyke as it is, so no need to double up--but I do have to remind myself regularly that the purpose for coming here is to have fun. If I'm not, then I should quit coming. Here. Quit coming here--stop snickering! Jeezus, you kids...
Well, on average I'll read either all or half of the first page then reply to one of those.
