Solution to some of your problems

[BeFree]

The moderation has become too heavy. It is restrictive of art and leads yall into making personal decisions that we as grown ups should be left to work through. As it is now, certain factions weigh upon you to toe-a-line and bend-to-their-will.

Indeed, your personal decisions should not even matter anymore. Moderators' personal likes and dislikes should be factored out of decisions and just the basic rules is all that should be applied.

Let it be. It will be fine and you may enjoy your work more if you just remove yourself from making decisions that should, in all fairness, be democratically decided.

Peace.

[Skinner]

1. To a certain extent, I agree with you.

We will be moving in that direction when we move into our new software later this year.

Until then, we're just doing the best we can to make the current system hold together. (I should add that moderators' likes and dislikes are actually a lot less of an issue than many people here believe. They try very hard to be fair, even when they find posts distasteful -- something that happens many times a day.)

[BeFree]

2. Example

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=125&topic_id=319611&mesg_id=319611

Three posts deleted... because they were 'distasteful'? No rule breaking, but deleted nonetheless.