Each of the forums at Rendo has moderators. I came to understand that their job is to patrol the galleries and forums for 'inappropriate behavior', but also contribute to the communities – use their expertise  to  answer questions, highlight exceptional work they saw, organize challenges and/or workshops, etc. In short, facilitate and stimulate the creativity of the members.
The people in this forum are a great group. They rarely get into any mischief and they share info and tips quite willingly and amicably. It is no wonder that  a heavy hand of a moderator isnt needed.
However, the moderators here are in effect invisible in ALL respects. In the last half a year the moderators agiel and sgt2005 only posted in the vue forum 38 and 8(!) times.
(I'm not a frequent poster – I dont know enough  to be that helpful yet- but I posted 47 posts at this period)
I dont know if they posted any meaningful comments on any gallery images – I havnt seen any. None of the vue competitions started or finished on time. At the top of the forum there is a link to a section 'workshops' – the latest entry there is from April 2006. The forum log was updated on Nov 2007. In the community page the 'winner of the last challenge'  is the winner in march 2008. Image of the week was posted the same month. 'Staff picks' were posted between Jan and Mar 2008.
I'm sure I'm not the only one to notice their invisibility.

So, why did I decide to bring this up now?  Well, because their absence and unfamiliarity in what is happening here lead to a serious oversight and injustice. Nov is the month at Rendo for vue's artist of the month and the nominations were put forwards yesterday (would have been nice to see a notice in the vue forum). While some of the nominees are top class, there is (at least) one glaring omission. I cant see how any list this year could be complete without Artur Rosa, aka RUTRA, being on it. Anyone who visits the Vue forum and galleries even at a moderate frequency would have enjoyed his images – a combination of  technical skills and artistic flair, with a twist and a surprise to spice it all up. His work has been appreciated by the casual observers as well as the experts.
If  you were around,  it wouldnt have escaped your attention that he gets comments and favorites from many,  even though it is obvious he isnt in any 'lets comment on its others work'  club.
If you were around you would know that he willingly shares his knowledge with others in the group
(By the way, he posted 287 posts in the forum in the last half year).
If you were around you would have  heard his work is often honored by the creators of the software and is chosen as picture of the day on the e-on site.
If you were around you would have heard that his work was one of the finalists in the prestigious annual e-on competition.
If you were around all year, since the last AOM for vue, you would have realized that it isnt just the number of quality works he creates, it  isnt just the recognition he receives from his  peers, it isnt just the appreciation he gets from experts, it is this combined body of evidence that makes him a worthy nominee.

Of course, if the moderators are absent year long and only get around to handling the nomination process at (or after) the last minute, one can understand they are faced with a difficult task and in the hurry they may omit someone important.
One can understand, but not condone or forgive.

Even I am not naive enough to think the moderators will take any action to fix their mistake (prove me wrong, why not). But I hope they have the honor and courage to admit their mistake and apologize publicly.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
IMPORTANT NOTE – this message was payed for with my own feelings and time and was not endorsed or approved by anyone else.

"I paint that which comes from the imagination or from dreams, or from an unconscious drive. I photograph the things that I do not wish to paint, the things which already have an existence."
Man Ray, modernist painter
http://artpearl.redbubble.com/