On Fri, 29 Aug 1997, Spiffy wrote:

I don't think Tybalt likes moderating very much. I think he knows how 
people feel about him. Yet, he does this by his own free will [I think]. 
He could quit at anytime he wanted to, but he stays and takes the abuse. 
Why? I do not know. Perhaps he's a sick person and enjoys this kind of 
punishment. Maybe it's the power to decide who lives and who dies. Maybe 
he feels like he owes something to the list. 

(sigh) Tybalt perhaps loves this ML more than you know.

As moderator of the ML, he has a thankless job.  He has to look over 
dozens of posts a day, most of which have little or no relevance to his 
personal interests.  He has to stop somewhat-humorous spam threads that 
threaten to go out of control, and tempban people who go beyond the ML's 
limits, earning the ire of those around him.  In short, Tybalt has to be 
an asshole.  

However, what he does has to be done.  WW has said as much on many 
occasions before his arrival.  He doesn't do it for kicks and giggles, 
but because he wants to see this ML remain a haven for writers seeking 
help on their projects.  Without his control in this case, the ML would 
deteriorate into spam wars, which would both drive good writers away and 
choke the ML with needless spam.

Yes, Tybalt will make mistakes.  He's human, after all.  If they get 
out-of-hand, then most of the ML will let him and WW know.  So far, I 
haven't seen it come anywhere near that.  Personally, I hope he continues 
with his task as moderator for some time to come.

-- Nick