Oh, no. It's a serious request. Having fun at others' expense is what the rest of the board is for. But I do wonder whether there is any difference, or if some mods are willing to make the - as you argue it - nonexistent effort it apparently is to state the difference between general banter and moderating actions explicitly.

Because it's frequently the case that moderators issue decrees of various sorts about others' arguments, about their behaviour, and about their true intentions - for no other discernible reason in the thread than to disparage another poster's person, message or posting style.

Which I take to be either 1. a personal insult, or 2. a moderator's request to stop breaking the rules. Can you tell which is the correct one? I cannot.

And therefore I ask that more care should be taken with "moderating" of that sort, if I cannot actually be allowed to ignore it altogether. Your opinions about my true intentions are of course interesting enough - but not relevant.