The Rayaan / Jacob(smooth) Situation

[Aractus]

The fact that admins can do that, is a given when you sign up anywhere. But the fact that an admin boasts about it, leaves the rest of the population a bit restless and really thinking that this admin (and maybe others) have indeed been snooping in on the members.

Yes indeed, and the thing is that not even Tib or any other admin knows for certain whether other investigations were done in secret by admins - because that's what this one was - unless they've willingly admitted to it. I'm not accusing I'm saying we don't know.

But also, what I never saw admitted, was that when Rayaan gave out a personal detail in the thread "I read some of your stuff in a podiatrist forum :p" he has revealed something about that member to everyone - that he's a member on a podiatrist forum - something that was certainly inappropriate to do. It'd be just like saying "I found your facebook account and I know you're 34 :p".

But this issue isn't a personal thing. It's a breach of the trust that the members here have for moderators. It should not be "us and them" - that is to say that we are all equal here. Admins/Mods are not special - they have to abide by the same rules as everyone else.

Think about it as a democracy. It isn't one, but that doesn't mean we can't apply the principles of one. In a democracy the people decide who represents them, if they don't feek their member for parliament is representing their values they can vote him out. MP's can be arrested/charged, etc just like everybody else.

So they shouldn't do things that may make it appear as if they behave as a law unto themselves. I want to repeat this isn't meant to be a personal statement directed to any one individual, it's my general feelings on the matter.

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(this part removed to be posted below)