What exactly is it that you think the mods signed on to do? Assess mental health? Screen for psychosis? Treat psychosis? They did not sign on for any such thing. That would be impossible and also wildly inappropriate on an online forum. They aren't doctors or social workers.

How do you know that a faceless stranger is "a very real risk to themselves and others?" Some people might post suicidal messages for attention. Sure, they aren't healthy if that's how they want to get attention but you could only know if they're actually about to end their life if you were right there in person with them. And you are not. You don't know who they are or what their life looks like. Similarly, how do you know they are about to harm others in the offline world? Someone could post angry messages and not have any intention of harming someone. If the messages are actually abusive/violating the rules, the mods will step in after a report. That's all they can do. They don't track people down and place handcuffs on them.

If you really feel this way, then I wonder why you are a member on an online forum for folks living with mental health problems? By the very nature of the medium, the mods and DocJohn cannot do what you are suggesting. They cannot be PIs or cops and show up at people's homes....file for orders of protection etc.

We are not here to "fix" or "correct" other people's lives. None of us. If that is what you feel the goal of PC is, then you are probably going to feel miserable here. It sounds like perhaps you already are miserable here. Are you? We aren't cops or judges or family members here. We can read messages and reply or not. If a post seems offensive or abusive, we can flag it for the mods. And that's it. I think you need to be realistic about the online medium and its limitations.

You sound like you may be jumping to conclusions about other people's lives based on their posts. A person could make up a tall tale right now which could suggest that something terrible is about to happen to them.....it may be anxiety-provoking for someone reading the tall tale but that doesn't make it true. There's no way to know on a faceless online forum. Similarly, if something terrible is about to happen to someone, they need to call the police for offline, tangible help. If someone were pointing a gun at me, I wouldn't be hoping to log on to PC for help. How on earth would that be the responsibility of a moderator or DocJohn when they don't even know who the person is or where they live?

It sounds like you might feel more comfortable with an in-person support group....face to face interactions and non-verbal cues etc. I think it's a cognitive leap to assume that because you don't feel comfortable with the online forum then it must be wrong.

Being able to come to PC has helped me during a really difficult time in my life. I've met countless others here who say it helps them too. If it doesn't help you and makes you feel angry or miserable, why not leave rather than slamming it? What you are proposing cannot be done online. That's reality.