Sibyl and I have been around for 2 years.
LL has been around for half that.

But she is just as much of a moderator as we are.

However, Sibyl, LL and I have all had great amounts of experience working with forums and figuring out better and smarter ways to deal with problems.
That is what it has come down to.
Nothing to do with posts, time or bribing anyone 
Just being smart about everything. Anybody can click the "Lock Topic" button 'cause someone is breaking a rule. But sometimes it's better to solve the problem a different way rather than just locking everything. Maybe you can just politely ask them to stop, then you don't have to lock anything. Efficiency and decision making is a key part of being a moderator, and especially an admin.

Which is just some advice for some of you.
Don't let yourself turn into a mindless drone, interact with your members as much as possible on a personal level and try not to use your powers except for when you need to.

To add to Crasys post.

Once upon a time ago when SMF made me a Global Moderator here I asked him what I did to get this punishment?

Why did I ask him that?  
Half of it was joking. 
The other half was knowing that being a Moderator of a Support Forum with thousands of members, who will at times have serious problems with their forums, and may at times have issues with each other, dealing with people who might be upset when they login here,  trying to keep the peace, meant having to have a ton of patience, maturity and using a level head..  giving a lot of thought before acting upon things and knowing when its okay to let "some" things go.....IT IS NOT EASY.    There is a fine line and a balance between taking care of what needs to be taken care of here, and not wanting those who come here to feel watched over,  not allowing ones self to be on a power trip, and always remembering this is not MY forum..   I am only here to help.   

Crasy made some good comments at the end of his post.    He also wrote a post awhile ago with some good tips about running your own forum.  General Tips & Tricks

I found it and edited my post just before you posted that pker  (but thank you) 

Time for me to jump in here again...hope no one minds 

Although I am not a moderator on this support forum (God bless the staff, they do an awesome job), I am a member of the Support Staff for another large forum provider.(SMF For Free is still home to me though). I can really sympathize with the staff here.
  Dealing with thousands of people on a daily basis isn't easy. I have seen numerous sites where, posted somewhere, is "do this and you're banned"..."do that and you will be punished". That's not the way this support forum operates (or any support forum for that matter). It's not about "Power" or bossing people around. It is about helping those that require help. This in itself is sometimes an impossible feat. Not every problem is cut and dry like we would want it to be...nor does every member have the same idea of what that help should include. Being able to cope with that and having the ability to still provide a top notch service despite all the stress and hardships from disgruntle members, is what "makes" a moderator. It has nothing to do with post count, popularity, or anything like that. It is based on your ability and maturity to deal with tough situations in a calm matter. And that is a task in itself. Hat's off to the staff of this support forum for doing just that.

Of course not!


Very well put Gordie..   (and thank you)

Being a Moderator to a support forum is a tremendous job. Thank you to all of you who have been right
there to answer my questions when I have posted. It is greatly appreciated and you all do a great job.