[seeker5]

I am not an avid poster on the forum but I would be willing to pay a small subscription (only if the whole forum became private though). I have gotten some great forms of accountability and encouragement off of here, not to mention new ideas and information to process.

That's interesting. Why would you be willing to pay if the whole forum became private vs a part of it?

Originally Posted by ChaosKiwi

I am curious as to how common it is for senior members to "self-destruct" so to speak and get themselves banned?

I don't have the exact numbers so I can't really say. It's not common, but it does happen once in a while.

Do you moderators find it emotionally stressful to ban people?

Yes, we find it very displeasing to have to deal with banning a regular member. Spammers and established trolls are very easy emotionally to ban. However, regular members can be hard emotionally to ban. I feel it's one of the most challenging thing for new moderators to learn which is how to overcome their deep reluctance to ban people who need to be banned. I've felt a few times quite sad after we've had to ban some people even though I knew they had to be banned. However, the more experience I've become as a moderator, the easier it gets to deal with that by switching my perspective on it.

Do some people put up a big fight?

Yeah, a few do by trying to re-register new accounts and trying to create havoc. Those people become trolls that we've learned to deal with using various tools.

People don't usually put much of a fight when we decide to ban them.
I have also wondered it there is a way to remove yourself from the forum, or does it have to be done by a moderator?

Only way is to stop posting, or you can request a ban.