EDIT: Thank you everyone who has taken the time to read this, I didn't expect to have so many people comment but I assure you I have read what everyone has to say. There's some very interesting replies and it's encouraging to see so many people in agreement which makes me happy that I did write this out. Coffee for everyone.
I'm leaving the BBS.
This isn't something I thought I'd ever do, but it's the way things have gone. Newgrounds is undoubtedly my favourite website in the whole wide world (web) so obviously it'd only make sense that I'd want to be part of the community, the most obvious way being the BBS. Seeing the way it's run and seeing the people with power just use it to inflate their own egos and ruin the experience of anyone trying to enjoy themselves though completely spoils any chance of staying here.
I'll still be on NG. Depositing, watching flash, playing games, going to the matur-LISTENING TO AUDIO. What Tom and the staff has done with this site is absolutely amazing and they are straight up awesome guys. I don't think there's anyone else out there who's more dedicated to their site or their fans as Tom & Crew and that's what makes this site so great. The talent that comes to this site is amazing and it makes me proud to be part of the community when projects like Alien Hominid and Castle Crashers are proudly flying the NG banner.
Unfortunately they don't have reign over the BBS, that's left to other less capable people and as such it's become an experience I no longer wish to be a part of. I won't be posting anymore, save for maybe posting in C&C in clubs I have already joined.
Many of my friends have left already.
Some because of the shambolic and inconsistent way this place is run.
And some are just harassed by the people are meant to be setting an example.
AshfordPride was right, and there's a reason he's not here anymore.
'I'm sick of being banned. I've been here for 2+ years and have 15,000+ posts, I know how things are supposed to go down. Bans should be reserved for idiots who are blatantly breaking the rules on purpose. The folks who post the same shit over and over again or don't listen to other people telling them to stop.
God, whatever happened to locks? Why not just give me a warning? Tell me that you don't like what I'm doing. The mods are so damn subjective, I don't know who's going to ban me for what. Just tell me that this thread wasn't good, or that I shouldn't do something. I'm actually a pretty smart fellow.'
He's right. Yet constantly I see good users being banned and having their threads locked on the whim of a mod, yet any new user is allowed to go around making threads about what they did in school today. Half the time there's no reason given for the lock/ban/delete and since there's no consensus between the mods over what breaks the rules, we never know what's allowed and what isn't.
This isn't a recent problem and certainly isn't something I haven't brought up before. I've spoken with so many other users over this exact issue and they feel the same way, but nothing can be done about it. Any time I or someone else has voiced their concerns it's met with the usual backlash 'quit whining' 'leave if you don't like it' 'this forum would be shit without us'. I love NG and seeing as how it only has one forum I don't really have anywhere to leave to that has the same community, so why can't the moderation system on my favourite website actually work to a point where it's tolerable?
It's obvious how the moderation system works here. It's not about how well you post, or how useful you are (because if you so much as point out the rules then that's 'backseat modding' and you can bet that'll land you a ban). No, it's about the little clique of friends that talk to each other on AIM all the time and then nominate each other to be come mods. It's a circlejerk in all sense of the term and I don't think there's many that would dispute that. It's pretty clear when you consistently see the type of people who are modded and that whenever a mod steps down or gives up their modship, as soon as they make their return 6 months of so later they'll be given it right back again. So many of them are barely even active that it makes you wonder what they're doing there. They're not all bad people, I know that, but some of them are and they're all working in a bad system.
'What else do you expect when you give teenagers and adults with questionable intelligence and social skills some type of power on a place as inconsistent as the internet?' - TacticalShoe
There's no doubt I'm going to miss it. I've met so many great users through this site that it's hard to name them all:
Yeah well obviously I can't remember everyone. Even if I attempted to name some of them there'd be hundreds I was leaving off. Even users I've never spoken to but just have always thought were funny or liked the way they posted. Some I couldn't stand, some I even fancied (here's lookin' at you Krum).
So here's to the Camwhore Crew, here's to Join the Party, here's to Cock in the top left corner, here's to animated sigs, here's to cornelius, here's to Regarding, here's to MSPaint battles, here's to forever being level 9, here's to the Chat, here's to Kim Possible hentai, here's to Newgrounds.
If you still enjoy posting here, then that's great, I'm glad you can. If you agree with me, well you know what's the problem is. I'll still be on every day to deposit and watch flash movies, so feel free to drop me a PM if you want to chat.
Starogre
well zekey beat me to it but congrats on figuring out what the internet is