::watches average IQ drop several points as Jari leaves::
Okay, first of all I'm sorry to see you leave, Jari. It has been a privilege to have a moderator of such wit and sound opinion on these forums. I don't know whether or not the events of lately triggered this, but I'll respect your choice none-the-less.
Secondly, since there's been an awful lot of bitching about this avatar thing, I might as well make a few things clear:
1. While Jari did state an ultimatum about the avatar issue with Rubicant and Mofokubik, I was not forced to ban avatar use for you two. It just so happens that I fully support Jari's opinion, and you happen to be lucky that I chose a mild punishment for this little show of blatant disregard for rules/common sense.
2. Rubicant, shut up. Your whining on this issue has been constant, and we all already know you think it's horribly unfair you can no longer display a little blob of pixels next to your name, and I'm sure your nameless friends agree with you. But fact is, there has been several people showing a splendid lack of judgment regarding avatar sizes, and the moderators have had a very relaxed attitude towards it, despite the fact that it's annoying to everyone else. But rules without enforcement are not rules, and even while we now punish, it's STILL a very relaxed attitude here compared to other forums who would instantly ban your ass from the board. Shape up, or you'll start getting on my nerves with that attitude. And have you ever wondered why there are so few people on these forums that get on my nerves...?
3. For anyone else with questions about avatars, let's just re-state my views on them. First, avatars should not be too large, 10 kB is a reasonable limit. Many people are on dial-up, you know. Second, avatars should be reasonably sized. That is, they should not be annoying or disturbing when you're trying to read a post. Examples of such are overly wide avatars (moving post content far off right), overly high avatars (making a page of short posts consist of mostly space), or plain ugly avatars (offensive to the eye). Violation of avatar rules will result in loss of avatar rights. If anyone feels that this form of punishment is not apt, you are welcome to use no avatar at all, and instead use your avatar on some other forum that allow it.
Keeping forums like these clean and pleasant is no easy job, and it does involve weeding out the disruptive elements. Every member should strive to contribute as much to the forums as the forums helps them.
Now, this is what will happen next:
1. Jari's moderator status will be revoked, according to his wish.
2. Jari's account will, however, be left intact. His posts would have remained in any case, but this is still a preferable choice. Jari, think of it as an open door, should you choose to revisit us any time in the future.
3. Work will begin on selecting new moderators for all forums, and although it'll be hard to find someone I trust like Jari, a solution will eventually be found. The forums will not go unmoderated.
That is all for now. Any questions you have, I will answer here.
