i was going to come in and post on this thread to ask who might be best to contact regarding my want of clarification/concerns...

but i'll just say it here directly in case i've the same or similar thoughts/concerns that others might have as well.

i'm not trying to split hairs, believe me, and maybe in some small way, to one aspect of pumeco's point,  my thought process starts here:

what if i should leave an honest critique of something, either here or in the galleries.  i do not do so with malicious intent, nor would i use malicious or calloused words.  however, this written medium can be hard to judge at times, and p'raps my words get misinterpreted by the author of whatever kind of posting, and maybe it also gets misunderstood by whatever mod it would be reported to.  i did read the bit about being able to petition audience in order to state one's case if something like that were to occur.  i can, do, accept that. but still, this whole site is all about communication, either verbally or visually, and i don't want to feel as if i need to prepare a defense before i even type/speak.

and i do believe in, even desire to be a part of, a community that fosters, well, community.  and i believe in respectful discourse.  however, once i put something out there, how it may or mayn't come across to another is entirely out of my control.  there are people who want to have a good critiquing and can stomach it;  there are people who say they want one, but the reality of it is they truly don't;  there are people who only seek praise and take even the lack of it personally [and what i mean by this is that they become offended if no response is given at all];  and there are people who see this, i'm guessing, as just a slightly more interactive place than say Facebook [i've not really been on FB ever so i don't know for certain], and who use this site as a social stomping ground where all their friends can come and tell them how wonderful they are.  and of course, variants in between.

my concern, and yes, i'm being rather long-winded getting here, is that to make people somewhat fearful to speak their opinions openly offers those who may wish to learn/grow less opportunity to do so because whenst in doubt, it's always safer to either say nothing or give a hug.  i'm all for being mindful of tone and language, but some people might read the TOS and think "wow, i should just keep my mouth shut no matter what, just to cover my arse."  and that bit i would be a shame.

it's a tough place, that space that mods have to navigate through, can be a terribly slippery slope, at times trying to mediate a thing where i'd suspect no one is right, nor wrong, or everyone is.  i envy them not, to be sure.

at the end of the day, it boils down to this for me:

i don't want to be in a place riddled with fear, because i want the potential opportunity to grow.

i don't want to be in a place that is all rainbows, ribbons and bows, because i want the potential opportunity to grow.

i don't want to be in a place filled with venom and such hateful intent that it saps me creatively, because i want the potential opportunity to grow.

i applaud the effort to get the ball rolling in cleaning up some huge stinky piles, but i do have my concerns regarding a few things...