Board Thread:Consensus Track/@comment-24349111-20140611203956/@comment-10906938-20140619144105

(Sajuuk, we are on an internet forum)

It seems a bit naive to say everyone here is equal. We all shouldn't be equal. There needs to be some with power to give consequences to those who disobey. Every society needs these people, unless it is Utopia. This wiki is not Utopia. It can't function if nobody has power to stop trouble makers. The definition of power is:

The capacity or ability to direct or influence the behavior of others or the course of events.

Moderators are in place to deter vandalism and other wrongs through use of tools not available to normal users. And this is good; moderators show dedication and desire to improve the wiki. Without them, it would be a convulsing heap of spam, foul language, inappropriate behavior, and vandalism. The special tools are in place to deter malicious behavior. This influences the behavior of others.

The definition of authority is:

The power or right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience.

Moderators don't have complete authority, so they can't give many orders other than 'Don't pollute the forums/chat' by a kick or block. The are required to make decisions about what is a bannable offence. The last one is obvious. The keep rules in order, and thus, keep our society in order.

This doesn't mean votes cast by moderators are different than those cast by normal users.

Think of it like police officers. At the job, they ticket people for violations and even make arrests to enforce laws. These laws keep order. When they are off the job, though, they aren't any different than normal people. They still have to pay taxes and follow rules. In fact, they have more rules to follow than normal citizens. Because if they abuse their power, it is taken away. This is much like moderators. Chat moderators don't get special treatment in a forum-- it isn't where they have power.

I don't know why you are so scared of accepting the fact that some users have more power. It is necessary, and power is only given to those who are proven to be able to handle it. Our wiki couldn't function if moderators weren't given more power. The best we could do then is ask and strongly suggest that people stop breaking rules. No one could take action because they wouldn't have any more power than the individual in question does.