I think that magellan spent considerable time and money installing an "easy does it, ridge" bot on this site...

I agree with most of the reviews below. RIA is moderated "just right", and I would like to see no significant changes.

Call me Goldilocks, but take a quick look around the web.  Get a feel for some of the other opinion and discussion forums that have been dumbed down to the point of being unusable by reviewers submitting inarticulate stupidity or that have been obviously sanitized to the point of boring, ineffective attempts at propaganda.  Suddenly you will feel a deep appreciation for the work that the good people of RIA are doing to make this site so worthwhile.  Freedom of speech is respected with the only qualification that the speakers in turn provide valid input and try to be at least somewhat respectful.  Sure there are bumps along the way and every few months some controversy .  But overall their efforts have been repaid by the general quality of the submissions from the participants.

Take that, admin!!

Rate it All is NOT moderated. At least not in the manner moderation works. It's an "open season" territory on a "no man's land".

I have recently become aware of the many complaints that have been lodged against the site owners. I've been on this site for seven years now and frankly this has always been a place where you can fairly express your opinions. The history of RIA has had its up and downs, various flamewars and other assorted conflicts. Castlebee is right: the ones who last are the ones who have a thicker skin about them. A lot of people don't like being criticized for their opinions, and many less enjoy expressing them in a public forum. You have to accept that you will be questioned and even trashed every once in a while: this is the internet after all. If you can't take the heat, stay out of the kitchen. All things considered, the moderator/owner really keeps things in check with regards to internet trolls. That's important, for you want an environment where intelligent discussion can be had. No moderator can always be successful at it, because not all opinions are created equally, but the team which runs RIA is pretty successful at managing the site overall.

I seldom see any evidence of a moderator, nor do I see much need for it. Self-policing works well. If someone starts flaming another, it's pretty easy to shut it down yourself by refusing to respond further. It's a waste of time trying to communicate with someone who's not being civil. The evidence I see is that most people can pretty much say what they want, so long as they are halfway reasonable. So I have to conclude that RIA is moderated just right.

I might disagree if I were a slave to the "Helpful God"

I have been reprimanded as much as or more than most, I suppose.  I really have no complaints except for some of my great dingo postings that were deleted!  The public just can't get enough warnings about dingoes.

Not that anything I would say would have any effect on anybody, but I think listening to one another and working things out would be the best policy.

  "This porridge was too hot. This porridge was too cold. But this porridge was just right."

Seriously, from my perspective, I find relatively little to complain about here. I like it as is. To steal a line from a certain right- leaning propaganda... I mean news... network  it's-  "Fair and balanced," or well at least quite close to that.  

From my perspective its been pretty even-handed. Certainly better than some other sites of my limited acquaintance.

I've been around this place for a very long time and here's my take for what it's worth.  When I think of a need for moderation of any kind, I am mainly thinking of flame wars and other conflicts among the reviewers.  Though not all, lots of these tend to be political or religious in nature and they also tend to come in waves.  Anyone or any group who has a very strong opinion at one end of the political/religious spectrum or the other tend to (at least occasionally) see this (or almost any) forum as biased - especially when they are challenged by one or two people who hold the opposite opinion.  The people in the middle of the road aren't usually fired up sufficiently to think of this as a problem - they tend to either see something of value on both sides, are simply less combative by nature or don't get involved at all.  Overall, I think there has been a concious effort to moderate RIA fairly.  Nothing is perfect (thus my 4 star rating rather than 5) and with something this large, you can guarantee only one thing; you will never please everyone.  Those who seem to enjoy contributing and end up staying longest are the ones who manage to overcome personal sensitivities and build up an immunity to the flame war seeking trolls.

Let's go with the 'umpire' theory- if you are really 'into' the game and don't notice the officials too much then they are doing their jobs just fine for the most part. . .

Speaking only for myself, RIA seems to be moderated fairly. With the exception of an occasional reminder or scolding for something I said, a curse word perhaps, I have never had a problem with the administrator. As an observer, I know that there are a handful of reviewers that do and I'm sure they disagree with me on this one.

*wipes tear from eye* Damn, magellan just summed up the way I go about this crazy place and AH CRAP! You just gave away all my secrets! Where did you get them? Have you been talking to Tracy or somethin'?

My friends give me a hard time because I'm a little psycho about respect for personal choice.  My personal mantra is "don't be a victim."  If you don't like something, fix it, or get the hell away from it.  If you think this is a good site, I think you should stay.  If you think that this site is lame, I think you should go.  Personally, I think RateItAll bends way beyond the norm to give power to its members.  If there are other sites that share revenue, that allow you to delete all your stuff whenever you want, and that give you everyday access to the founder, I'm not aware of them.  RIA is pretty radical that way - don't believe me?  Try deleting your reviews from Amazon or Yahoo Answers or Epinions or your favorite forum, or try asking for a share of your ad revenue.  

Anyway, I say what I mean, and I mean what I say.  If you're not comfortable with the site's rules or how they're administered, I would encourage you to contact the admin and tell him why.  If you don't like the answer, and it's serious enough that it's causing you stress, you should probably split.  There's no reason to stress yourself out about a website.

If enough people feel like the site sucks, it will die.  And that's the way it should be.  All hail the free market.  However.  I personally think that this is a special site, with special people, and that we've carved out a unique little corner of the web.

But enough drama.  Everybody does what they have to do.  As long as you're not screwing with anybody else, more power to you.