I'm assuming at least some degree of consensus among some of the posters here, so please forgive the arrogance if i'm way off. It would be interesting to hear any other views about how the community here feels this place (this forum specifically) should be modded...
Dear moderators:
Look-
1) We all come here to entertain ourselves, whether by playing non-hasbro-affiliated hexagon assault games, or by posting drivel, or by arguing endlessly about world events or pointless trivia. That's what this forum (NYB, NYR, whatever) is about.
It's understandable that you got all shitty when we had our cheeky OT laffs in the geekpit, and when we weren't really serious about congratulating each other or anything, but here can you just let us get on with it? please?
For example: If a thread in here goes off-topic, who cares? The ONLY people who ever complain or act on it are the mods. This suggests that the actual community doesn't mind, and in fact (in my case anyway) gets a kick out of the free-association fun that can ensue. If we don't mind, why do you care? Why can't you let us get on with our off-topic-topics?
Which leads to:
2) Spam is either luncheon meat or unwanted email of a commercial nature. It is not a blanket term for posts that don't fall within whatever narrow, lock-happy strictures y'all have decided matter here in some way. They don't. Not to most of us. If people want to have a convo about dice probabilities, they have GD. If they want to flame, they have FW. Posters in those forums prolly have every right to be annoyed if their threads are derailed or trolled - but NYB is entirely non-specific in its scope for subject matter and conversation. If posters want to post an amusing thread, or parody an exisiting thread, or take a thread somehwre interesting for no other reason than to amuse themselves and other posters in here, why not let them?
3) trolling - fair enough, guilty your honour, but FFS a lot of us come in here to argue, and i think here, as in general, a lighter touch would make many people a lot happier.
Look - my point is basically this:
Cui bono? Who benefits from these locks and thread mergers and warnings for straying off-topic? If people in here are complaining about these things then tell us and we can sort it out. But if not, it's just strangling this place bit by bit.
Would there be any harm in trying some lighter-touch moderation and seeing whether that worked?
or, first, how about listening to what the community has to say about how it is policed?
I never really thought I gave a shit but apparently i do. And like I said, if i've overstepped the mark or anything, then post about it. This is my peace, would be v interested to hear what others have to say.
I beg to differ! I look nothing like that man! 
