I want to make myself clear in advance. I respect Alison, but I cannot acquiesce to her request on this. I will keep my posts polite and on point (as to avoid moderation on this thread), but I will continue to express my opinion. This is a pertinent topic that deserves public discussion, especially if a member of national staff is going to make what appears to be a unilateral decision and attempt to stifle discussion on that topic.
There are two major reasons that I feel moderators should be public. First is simple transparency. It is something that is sadly lacking in the Alliance and I have witnessed that lack of transparency create rifts and problems for the past 20 years. I am not trying to insult Alison, because I know she is simply doing what she thinks is best, but her recent posts on the boards highlight this lack of transparency. The post in this thread attempts to stifle public discussion. Similarly in a Gypsy thread she recently stifled discussion as well. Both posts come with a promise of explanation (which I firmly believe is forthcoming), but it seems rather heavy handed. The 2.0 rules are also an example which is problematic, because some people are "in the know" and others are not. If the knowledgeable people were just those working on the rules, that would be fair, but the information is shared more freely than that by some, creating another lack of transparency.
The second reason I feel moderators should be public has to do with personal disputes / favoritism. This really hit home for me recently when I received a warning from a Paladin. I had accidentally posted in the wrong forum and the Paladin game me a deserved warning. As part of that Paladin said that he or she knew me and knew I was just trying to be helpful. So, if anything, I might have benefited from my relationship (whatever it is) with that Paladin. But, even as I read that, I realized that if the Paladin had disliked me in real life, the situation might have turned out very different. It is an unfortunate fact that not everyone in our game gets along. And Paladins are people. If they dislike someone or don't trust them, they are likely to be harsher in enforcing board rules. And anonymity lets them get away with that. Similarly, anonymity lets Paladins get away with being more lenient to their friends.
Despite the statement of the Alliance GM, I will continue to petition for public moderators now and in the future. I think it is the right thing.
-MS
Note to Paladins: According to board rules, the Alliance GM cannot unilaterally decide to end a public thread that is on topic, in the correct forum category, and that is being discussed politely. And disagreeing politely is also not a violation of board rules. Thus, this topic should NOT be locked.