I was a moderator on one of the largest published author sites on the web. I did my best to avoid conflicts and ease tensions. That worked well for quite awhile but then the mob mentality took charge once again when I was gone for a week. I came back and told it like it is, it was difficult to treat these established men and women writers like children but thats the way they were behaving. The site owner told them we have two rules. (1.) Treat others the way you want to be treated. (2.) All complaints go through Chatty. She alone will make a decision to go on with, or drop a topic.

To this day the site is friendly, well visited,and helpful to one another because I was forced to cancel the membership of several well known trouble makers, posters, saying NO ONE is above the rules. They were banned for six weeks and told privately if they wanted to return just sigh in again and then behave or be deleted permanently. They knew the rules, and knew there was no such thing as favoritism shown by me.

It has become a quiet, no squabbling, yet interestring site.

Some times people become too impressed with themselves and the importance they believe they have on a forum.

When I was a supervising manager for a major news organization in Washington, D.C. I use to hold meetings where my final words after stating the problems to be fixed were, we are going to play a game, its called, "you bet your job!" Hummm, worked every time too.