Quote: "Well in that case let's remove the e-mail button since that's even worse in that it allows abuse and you can't really report it."
Or you could choose not to share your email address, simples!
Quote: "Not really, as long as a proper report feature is added to the forums. If that's added the moderators don't have to spend all their time looking for where abuse might happen; it'll be up to the users to report it, which I'm sure they are well capable of. Moderating could probably be done by a small handful of people if this kind of system was implemented."
Let's take a look at exactly what would be involved; first, the user has to click the report button. Then the MOD has to look through the conversation to see why the report button was clicked and if it was really necessary. Next he has to look at the offender's previous forum history, and if necessary, discuss it with the other MODs, in order to decide what action would be appropriate. Then he has to apply that action against the offender. Now multiply that by all the times the report button would potentially be clicked, then add it to all the other things the MOD has to do, as well as all their real life responsibilities. Sorry, but no matter how you try and spin it, it's still creating too much extra work for the MODs.
Quote: "I think you're calling the forum users idiots;"
I think you're seriously misrepresenting what I'm trying to say. I neither said, nor even implied that the forum users are idiots. When I talk about self moderation, I'm not talking about web site functionality, I'm talking about self control.
Yes, there's plenty of clever, rational people in the forums, unfortunately, it can be very difficult to make yourself heard amidst all the flamewars.