> And I've seen ops quiet everyone in the room just so they can say something without being interrupted, kick people just for fun, and other similar things. I know a lot of this is not mean-spirited but instead an attempt at joking around with their friends. But it's sad when an op does this to people who don't know them and who are unlikely, for that or any other reason, to find the humor in the situation. And it's still an abuse of the powers Sam has given the ops to use responsibly when necessary.

Sometimes, perhaps, but I don't agree that this is usually the case. I do those things myself on occasion. I do the best I can to be considerate of everybody and to make sure that such things are not construed as an offense. However, I have better things to do than to drive myself paranoid that, oh no, someone might not find me funny! -- and walk on eggshells to avoid offending someone. This is what burns me out on RinkWorks anyway, and generally I think people should be a little thicker skinned or suffer the consequences of their own brittle tempers. That sounds more callous of me than I actually am. If someone gets offended at me, even when I feel I was acting "reasonably," it bothers me greatly. But I can't afford to let myself get crushed everytime somebody doesn't like something I do. There should be some give and take. I'll meet easily offendable people half way, maybe even two thirds of the way over, but I'm sure as heck not meeting them right where they've got their feet planted.

I expect the same from ops. Make reasonable precautions to avoid offending people, apologize and make amends if on reflection after the fact it seems that insufficient precautions were taken; to heck with it otherwise.