I am not getting involved in this thread's discussion - it is about forum karma, for crying out loud. This is hardly something to be getting in any way upset about or even discussing in detail. It is meant to be a 'fun' addition to the forums. I will, however, attempt to answer some of your questions. PrincessHIGH asked for clarification on whether the Silk Road forums were part of Silk Road discussion; whether she is aware of it or not is not an issue - I was asked to clarify, and both her question and my response, are here: http://dkn255hz262ypmii.onion/index.php?topic=160934.msg1142134#msg1142134 The thread discussing why we were moving threads was indeed answered; the member in question was wondering what was up, and I responded stating that we're simply trying to move things to the correct categories. If you are one day made a moderator then you will be required to make the calls on which categories you believe topics fit into. For the time being, that responsibility falls on myself and the other forum moderators. Off topic has not become a "dumping ground" for anything. It has become more active as a result of threads that were in the wrong sections being moved there. Things that were previously accepted by previous moderators as being Silk Road discussion issues are not my concern; if I believe something is in the wrong place then I will move it, unless instructed otherwise by an administrator. Important developments related to Silk Road itself will, of course, be left in the Silk Road discussion forum. I do see where you're coming from regarding threads being pushed to other pages as a result of the activity in Off topic, but if there is an important issue that affects users use of Silk Road, they will stay in Silk Road discussion as they will obviously be considered pertinent to the topic of that forum. The benefits of this new approach - which I freely admit is being spearheaded by me - is to ensure that the Silk Road discussion forum remains a place where issues concerning Silk Road itself are brought to light and can be addressed and discussed. Your thread was moved from the most frequently viewed section on the forums to its correct location in the second most frequently viewed section on the forums - Off topic - as it is not discussing Silk Road, nor issues relating to it; it is discussing forum karma, which is an Off topic issue (by virtue of not being a Silk Road issue). If there were a "Silk Road forum" forum, then it would have been moved there. You know from my previous responses in this thread and others on the topic of karma that I do not consider karma to be an issue worth discussing whatsoever. If you wish to relate the thread's move to something, you are, of course, completely free to do that. I have stated the reason that the thread was moved numerous times in previous posts, and that is all there is to it. There are no "underhanded manouevers" at play here. It is what it is and was moved by me, a moderator who is here with a job to do, and will do it to the best of my ability regardless of how others view me. I appreciate criticism, both constructive and otherwise, as it helps me do my job and mold myself to the wishes of the community. That being said, if I have explained my reasoning for something and you do not accept it there is nothing to change that. Things that are unrelated to Silk Road discussion are considered Off topic discussions. I stated that in my earlier post here: http://dkn255hz262ypmii.onion/index.php?topic=160934.msg1142134#msg1142134 The "former normal way of doing things" has indeed been upturned a little by my presence, and I'm discussing with the team about whether or not I should take a looser interpretation of what constitutes Silk Road discussion due to that forum becoming less active than Off topic. If we come to a consensus about that, I will reconsider my position on the matter. To address your issues with the threads you provided: The thread "The Darknet vs the real dark network" is a discussion directly about Silk Road and Silk Road ideals, so it fits in the Silk Road discussion forum. There may be a case to be made that it should be moved to Philosophy, Economics and Law and I will consider doing so if we feel it will fit better there. The thread "Am I just smart or are my friends just really stupid" is discussing one users use of Silk Road, and whether using it makes him smarter than his peers. It is a discussion directly relating to Silk Road, so it fits into that forum, though could also possibly be considered Off topic discussion. The thread "SR Stronger" is discussing whether or not people feel that Silk Road is getting "stronger or weaker" now than before, so that also fits in that forum. What do you expect me to do about the fact that other forum users wish to give you negative karma?! There is nothing I can do about it if people are disagreeing with things you are saying. Not everybody agrees with things that I say either, and if they wish to express that they either engage me in conversation or hit the [discourage] button. That's just the way it is. Perhaps people disagree with the fact that you care so much about forum karma, something that is obvious when people attract negative karma simply for bringing up the issue of karma in a thread. Do you honestly pay that much attention to "negging", though? I mean seriously Razorspyne, you're getting bent out of shape about something that is completely innocuous. Both you and PrincessHIGH could have been "negged" by any forum member for any previous posts you've ever made in these forums, at any time. There is currently no way of finding out who awarded karma to whom and for what reason, so everything you're stating in that regard is conjecture, and you're quite possibly linking two completely unrelated events to one another. Coincidence or not, there is literally nothing we can do about this. I can assure you that I have no reason to have "hard feelings" against anyone. You both contribute to the community here and your contributions, regardless of their topic, are appreciated as they stir discussion on issues and encourage more community members to get involved. That is ALWAYS a good thing in my books. You are indeed free to express any opinion you wish as this is indeed a free place. How is forum karma impacting on that freedom in any way whatsoever?! You are not being censored, and I will not allow you to be censored. Freedom of speech is my personal number one priority here, and I will protect that in any way that I can. As for "closely monitoring your actions", you are more than welcome to do that though I'm not entirely sure what you're attempting to achieve with it. As I have stated, I have a job to do here and I am going to do it as best I can. I don't hold grudges, nor has any one given me reason to begrudge them. In any case, doing a job such as this in a community like the one we have here, it is impossible to please everybody. I'm not here to make friends, I'm here to attempt to ensure that this community can operate as freely and efficiently as possible, and compartmentalising information so that it can easily be found by looking in the right forum. That job will be done to the best of my ability whether I receive applause or criticism for it, from any corner. Libertas