I was the other night. But I think that it will be fixed up as much as is possible by the staff, as it is very damaging to their asset. I'm an optimist, there is a few chances left in me yet :)

No. Unfortunately in all manner of activities you get people who are obnoxious, disrespectful and generally just annoying to have to come into contact with. So it was inevitable that they would come on answerbag. Whilst it is perhaps the greatest source of irritance for me when I use AB (i.e. nearly every day!), I just put up with it and try to ignore it as much as possible. If I have a particularly bad day, I may leave AB for a day or two, until I get it out of my system, but I doubt I would leave. However, that is not to say that an upgrade to the moderation would go unappreciated.

I won't leave, because I enjoy answering questions and asking them. But grudgingly, because the moderation system is seriously flawed. Someone will rate an answer or question down if they don't agree with its content, even if it's correct - which is biased. The mere fact there are 'points' and 'levels' encourages competition, which encourages disunity and being stingy with giving points, and it decreases the redeeming value of AB in the first place.

No, if anything the negative rates have diminished from 8 months ago. I also find that the staff are quite quick to jump on obvious abuse and daft submissions.

Once you start imposing restrictions you will lose the fluidity of AB which I think is part of its attraction

Personally I have only just discovered that somebody has been flagging what I have considered genuine questions and they have been accepted by the moderators When a question has been answered by a lot of people how can it be described as offensive or spam.? I see loads of very poor questions that get by a lot of which would not pass a primary school test. Some people are moderating on the backs of others making a lot of points in my view often with no reason . If they were flagging some of the rubbish I would understand a little more. I have noticed that a lot of the people whom I enjoyed answering and had a good presence on the site have gone. So I suppose a lot more will follow. It is becoming much more difficult to find questions that are worth answering. I suppose if the silly infantile rude stuff remains and we see it get worse, yes more people will leave it is a pity that it is the really good ones spending less time here. In the 5 weeks I have been a member AB has lost a lot of good people

As an aside, I love the way that this upstart describes itself, presently "Fiery upstart of Demand Media". And there's the crux. This site is a bit of an upstart. Moderation is a double edged sword - too much and you stifle the free exchange of opinion that makes this site so interesting. If the moderators started weeding out questions of merit because of the content then we would lose some very valuable and valid questions. I accept that the moderators do what they can to stop the worst excesses of trolling, and are quite swift to remove or change truly offensive questions and answers, but they have a wonderful hands-off approach that allows us to give a real opinion without fear of censure. Of course we also accept that out peers might comment and downrate if we touch a raw nerve, but that is where most of the users here are responsible and make amends, or explain why they gave the answer/rating they did. I will certainly not leave. I like the present approach and can put up with some trolls who do no more than nip at our heels a little before being thrown out. A small price to pay in a society that is already over-regulated.

I don't know about you, but I am annoyed at the way people repeatedly abuse the rating system. As such, if there are no changes in the near future, I will add myself to the pile of ex-baggers. I don't care about the points (that doesn't make the slightest bit of difference), its the principle. [The problem is not at our end (the community), the problem is with the AB system.] All new users should read this: http://tinyurl.com/yyab85

Not at all. I feel that this site is very well managed. Things have a way of working themselves out “in the bag”. Good people run this site. People that care about you and me. The administrators make themselves available and have always followed up when I have given feedback. I have taken complaints to them, and they have listened. The baggers have a lot to say in running this site. In December I was taking some very cruel abuse by a user or two. I will always remember the baggers who came to my aid. We need to be humble and accept the fact that the administrators run the show and we follow their rules. If there is a rule that we find wrong, bring it to their attention. It’s like being on a plane. Let the pilot fly the aircraft. Stay in your seat and enjoy the flight. They have a tough job. This is a lot of traffic firing away at them every minute. Human beings have to monitor all of this. We can do our part by being civil to one another. Remember the words of that famous philosopher when asked about how to treat others: “Be excellent to each other”. - Ted 'Theodore' Logan, 'Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure' (Gotcha- thought I was going to insert a scripture in there?) :)

I have actually thought of not coming back,...but Im addicted. All the fake profiles are really starting to get to me though. Its making this site a lot less entertaining.

No. A lot of people are upset about points and such. Get over it, you can't take them with you. Let's be honest, how hard have you really worked for those points? Did you fact check answers and research them before posting them or did you go for a quick point fix? Some have, but most haven't checked squat. I can spot them answering this very question or others like it. Dead wrong, not cited (lifted from other sources w/out credit being given to the source--it happens by accident to be fair and some older Qs had links removed it seems), you name it. It matters not, because I have seen a barely coherent answer get the same plus up as many of the better ones. So, points are not that impressive. What SHOULD matter is the level of civility. This has been an issue for a long time and now we have CLs to help with that. Great. Badged referees (shakes head). Everyone complains about easy mod points. They are no easier than cutting and pasting answers from other sources folks. I am happy to have people removing the clutter so I can navigate this site with more ease and efficiency. Nuf said. Trolls. They exist everywhere. No getting away from them. Screaming from the rooftops is what they love and AB has certainly given them that. Opt to pipe down--your choice. You leave, people come to replace you, and the revenue comes rolling in. You can accept it or well, leave. I hope that people stick around and try to focus on more positive aspects than points. Friendship is a good option. I have been on and off for almost 4 years. I have seen it all. Let it go and if you can't, take a break, and if you're still hot under the collar. . .leave. NOTE: This is meant not for the asker, but for all. It's easy to sit back and complain (I have done my share). Easy but not productive.