Perspective. I've always maintained the viewpoint that every post a moderator or administrator makes IS in essence Moderation. You're posting on behalf of the site you work for and represent and thus are moderating without using your tools. A moderator is a leader, a user of influence who has tools to help guide and lead discussion. Locking/Warning are strictly tools a moderator has to make the boards smoother, not what actually makes you a moderator. You can moderate a thread often without ever having to use a tool Maybe in some small cases that's true but not every moderator is a wizard with words. We can't magically moderate a topic without proper procedures and a in thread like this, where we're posting opinions and engaging in discussion, it's not moderation. One of the important things staff are expected of is to be users first and not let their opinions be compromised by their position. If every post is moderation then I fail to see how we can uphold that standard. You see that avatar that says Super Moderator? Yeah, that won't go away until you're promoted/demoted. And with that and all the other symbols that highlight that you are a moderator here on the forums, you can not escape the presence that you hold or any of us moderators have when we are using the forums. That is what Das was talking about. Just being here is construed as moderation. The artifacts bring a message, the non verbal side of moderation to use a term. You are correct when saying staff are expected to be users first which is definitely true, and I know where you are coming when you ask the question that your posts of "moderation" contradict that statement. That can be true, but remember, you are a user, we all are. It's just the ideas and perceptions that come from the non verbal side of things which can't be wiped away. An admin is perceived in one way, crew in another, TET has it's own perceptions, as well as different demographics of users across the board here. You can't change that persay but you as well as everyone else, needs to understand, but that is an uphill battle that I don't think will ever be "won". So in the mean time, I'm going to stop rambling and I just added a +1 count to the moderation here in this topic. ;)