Serious question, does anyone remember when forums had actual moderators?

I was on a gaming forum back in 2003 or so, and a mod named Tim actually called me out for posting a meme in the wrong section. He sent me a private message explaining the rule and gave me a warning instead of just nuking my account. Now I hop onto some boards and it feels like the wild west with zero guidance. Has anyone else noticed how moderation style changed over the years, or is it just my luck?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_fiona21h ago

Yeah you hit it right with "different forums always had different vibes" - that wrestling board sounds chill compared to the one I was on where the mod would ban you for even mentioning another site. It feels like now most boards just let the spam bots run wild with zero human intervention.

tessa_kelly1d ago

Started another thread about mod style once and got completely ignored... I remember back on a wrestling forum around 2005, the main mod was this guy who would write a full essay about why your post broke the rules and offer to help you fix it. Then one time I accidentally posted a spoiler for a big match result in the discussion area instead of the spoiler section, and he just moved it without even saying anything. Different forums always had different vibes though, some were strict and some were total chaos even back then.