Sabrina maybe I can help you with this. Ive been here I think for two years now and Im moderated. I have chosen to remain under the help of the moderating team.

Sometimes the best way the moderation team can help people is to know what posts/threads they are replying to and help the person replying reword things from their normal cultural background thoughts and wording to the wording that is world wide here on psych central.

when I first came here to psych central two years ago it was kind of like taking someone raised in japan and plopping them down in the center of Germany. sometimes its best to have that mediator who can help that person through the culture shock where everyone on the site is getting upset because you are not fitting in and your getting frustrated because all these people around the world are jumping on you because the word you used means one thing to you but another to everyone else. in this sense it just made sense for me to go back on moderation.

it also made sense from my perspective to remain moderated because I am a therapist. Therapists are human some times we can end up saying things in a more harsh way then expected. plus this being a mental health website where theres bound to be mental health clients who have had adverse dealings when it comes to therapists, well lets just say I have noticed its uniform with all mental health websites that sometimes theres a bit of transference where website members upset with their treatment providers can sometimes strike out at those treatment providers in the mental health website instead of taking it to the person they are really upset with. both those situations on both sides of me as a therapist and me as a client in therapy I wanted the assurance that my posts were those that didnt accidentally contain being overly harsh or containing transference issues.

with staying moderated I have a less stressful experience here because the moderators see my replys and what Im posting to before my reply is put on the boards for all to see. The moderators let me know if I misunderstood the post Im replying to, and need to rethink / re write my reply before the moderators place them on the boards for me. By the time my posts are placed on the boards both the moderators and I can be assured my posts are ok.

my choosing to stay moderated doesnt mean every one of my posts are going to be accepted by everyone that is a member here. everybody has their own triggers, good days bad days and what they are willing to hear and from who and how.. Im the same way. this is where the ignore feature comes in with with me.

where the ignore feature helps with this situation of posts and posters rubbing me the wrong way, staying moderated helps the moderators and I to know my posts are correct by the standards set here.

being under moderation at some websites means the person has done something wrong but here it doesnt necessarily mean that. for some of us like me we have chosen to remain under moderation for our own self care and sense of well being.