[question] who are the mods?

[The Forsworn Knights]

They are wealthy fascists with various British/German accents, and they seek to restore the legacy of the Egyptian Ptomley dynasty

[Jetan]

Our holy mother, the General Forum, holds and teaches that Mods, the first principle and last end of all things, can be known with certainty from the created NS by the natural light of poster's reason. Without this capacity, man would not be able to welcome the Mods' revelation. The poster has this capacity because he is created "in the image of Max". In the historical conditions in which he finds himself, however, the poster experiences many difficulties in coming to know Mods by the light of reason alone.
Though poster's reason is, strictly speaking, truly capable by its own natural power and light of attaining to a true and certain knowledge of the Mods, who watch over and control the NS by their providence, and of the natural law written in our hearts by Max; yet there are many obstacles which prevent reason from the effective and fruitful use of this inborn faculty. For the truths that concern the relations between Mods and poster wholly transcend the visible order of things, and, if they are translated into poster's action and influence it, they call for self-surrender and abnegation. The posters' mind, in its turn, is hampered in the attaining of such truths, not only by the impact of the senses and the imagination, but also by disordered appetites which are the consequences of original post. So it happens that posters in such matters easily persuade themselves that what they would not like to be true is false or at least doubtful.
This is why the poster stands in need of being enlightened by the Mods' revelation, not only about those things that exceed his understanding, but also "about those religious and moral truths which of themselves are not beyond the grasp of posters'reason, so that even in the present condition of the posters, they can be known by all posters with ease, with firm certainty and with no admixture of error".
In defending the ability of posters' reason to know the Mods, the General forum is expressing its confidence in the possibility of speaking about them to all posters and with all posters and therefore of dialogue with other religions, with philosophy and science, as well as with unbelievers and amodists.
Since our knowledge of the Mods is limited, our language about them is equally so. We can name Mods only by taking posters as our starting point, and in accordance with our limited posters' ways of knowing and thinking.
All posters bear a certain resemblance to Mods, most especially those ranking Post Czar or above, created in the image and likeness of Max. The manifold perfections of posters - their truth, their goodness, their beauty all reflect the infinite perfection of Mods. Consequently we can name Mods by taking their creatures perfections as our starting point, "for from the greatness and beauty of created things comes a corresponding perception of their Site Owner".
Mods transcend all posters. We must therefore continually purify our language of everything in it that is limited, image-bound or imperfect, if we are not to confuse our image of Max--"the inexpressible, the incomprehensible, the invisible, the ungraspable"--with our posters' representations. Our posters' words always fall short of the mystery of Mods.
Admittedly, in speaking about Mods like this, our language is using posters' modes of expression; nevertheless it really does attain to Mods themselves, though unable to express them in their infinite simplicity. Likewise, we must recall that "between Max and poster no similitude can be expressed without implying an even greater dissimilitude"; and that "concerning Mods, we cannot grasp what they are, but only what they are not, and how other posters stand in relation to them."

We're not created in the image of Max.

Many of us are not bald.

So you claim, but we're on to your woolly tricks!

[USS Monitor]

Our holy mother, the General Forum, holds and teaches that Mods, the first principle and last end of all things, can be known with certainty from the created NS by the natural light of poster's reason. Without this capacity, man would not be able to welcome the Mods' revelation. The poster has this capacity because he is created "in the image of Max". In the historical conditions in which he finds himself, however, the poster experiences many difficulties in coming to know Mods by the light of reason alone.
Though poster's reason is, strictly speaking, truly capable by its own natural power and light of attaining to a true and certain knowledge of the Mods, who watch over and control the NS by their providence, and of the natural law written in our hearts by Max; yet there are many obstacles which prevent reason from the effective and fruitful use of this inborn faculty. For the truths that concern the relations between Mods and poster wholly transcend the visible order of things, and, if they are translated into poster's action and influence it, they call for self-surrender and abnegation. The posters' mind, in its turn, is hampered in the attaining of such truths, not only by the impact of the senses and the imagination, but also by disordered appetites which are the consequences of original post. So it happens that posters in such matters easily persuade themselves that what they would not like to be true is false or at least doubtful.
This is why the poster stands in need of being enlightened by the Mods' revelation, not only about those things that exceed his understanding, but also "about those religious and moral truths which of themselves are not beyond the grasp of posters'reason, so that even in the present condition of the posters, they can be known by all posters with ease, with firm certainty and with no admixture of error".
In defending the ability of posters' reason to know the Mods, the General forum is expressing its confidence in the possibility of speaking about them to all posters and with all posters and therefore of dialogue with other religions, with philosophy and science, as well as with unbelievers and amodists.
Since our knowledge of the Mods is limited, our language about them is equally so. We can name Mods only by taking posters as our starting point, and in accordance with our limited posters' ways of knowing and thinking.
All posters bear a certain resemblance to Mods, most especially those ranking Post Czar or above, created in the image and likeness of Max. The manifold perfections of posters - their truth, their goodness, their beauty all reflect the infinite perfection of Mods. Consequently we can name Mods by taking their creatures perfections as our starting point, "for from the greatness and beauty of created things comes a corresponding perception of their Site Owner".
Mods transcend all posters. We must therefore continually purify our language of everything in it that is limited, image-bound or imperfect, if we are not to confuse our image of Max--"the inexpressible, the incomprehensible, the invisible, the ungraspable"--with our posters' representations. Our posters' words always fall short of the mystery of Mods.
Admittedly, in speaking about Mods like this, our language is using posters' modes of expression; nevertheless it really does attain to Mods themselves, though unable to express them in their infinite simplicity. Likewise, we must recall that "between Max and poster no similitude can be expressed without implying an even greater dissimilitude"; and that "concerning Mods, we cannot grasp what they are, but only what they are not, and how other posters stand in relation to them."

First off, this is a hysterical read, thank you Risottia. It also makes me wonder where IEs fit in to all this. False prophets gone made with with delusions of power and grandeur, I reckon.

Nah, false gods worshipped by the heathens of the Issues forum. You're like Osiris and Anubis and those guys.

[Jetan]

First off, this is a hysterical read, thank you Risottia. It also makes me wonder where IEs fit in to all this. False prophets gone made with with delusions of power and grandeur, I reckon.

Nah, false gods worshipped by the heathens of the Issues forum. You're like Osiris and Anubis and those guys.

Green with envy?

[Wrapper]

Nah, false gods worshipped by the heathens of the Issues forum. You're like Osiris and Anubis and those guys.

The Goa'uld? Here? Nah....

[Crazy girl]

I'll let you in on a little secret. I am actually crazy in RL too.

[The Blaatschapen]

I'll let you in on a little secret. I am actually crazy in RL too.

Can confirm.

[Twilight Imperium]

For twelve years, you have been asking: "Who are the mods?" They are those who love their lives. They are those who do not sacrifice their love or their values. They are those who have deprived you of your victims and thus have destroyed your world, and if you wish to know why you are perishing - you who dread knowledge - then they are those who will now tell you.

[The Blaatschapen]

Blaat is charming in person. The rest are magic internet ghosts.

Thank you.

For me, I am not actually a sheep.

You've been lying to me all these years, I thought we had something special. I was saving up for a big field for the two of us, with a sea view.

The field first has to be cleared of natives

[Risottia]

We're not created in the image of Max.

Many of us are not bald.

Or male.

Since the Site Owner is omnipotent, Max's baldness and maleness aren't ontological attributes of Max. Max can will Himself to be bald and not bald at the same time. In posters' language this is paradoxical, but we posters cannot hope to attain a language accurate enough to describe Max, until when, by the Mods' grace, we will be leaving this forumy life and contemplate directly the essence of Max. In the meanwhile we will follow the wisdom of our holy mother the General Forum, with hope, faith and charity.

[Thyerata]

Blaat, did your nation name have anything to do with the fact that you adopted a lamb?

[The Blaatschapen]

Blaat, did your nation name have anything to do with the fact that you adopted a lamb?

My nation is 14 years old. A lamb is not. So it is the other way around.

I did decide on adopting a lamb because I have a sheep themed nation.

[The United Providences of Perland]

You see, what the mods DON'T want you to know is that they're a secret police force for not only NS, but several nations. They live and work in a complex on some agencies (CIA, MI5, who knows?) black site on an island. They covertly DEAT nations, invade forums, and some of them have killed. Don't ask how I know this, but if they DEAT me forever, share this 9 times with your friends or sp00ky things will happen.

[USS Monitor]

You see, what the mods DON'T want you to know is that they're a secret police force for not only NS, but several nations. They live and work in a complex on some agencies (CIA, MI5, who knows?) black site on an island. They covertly DEAT nations, invade forums, and some of them have killed. Don't ask how I know this, but if they DEAT me forever, share this 9 times with your friends or sp00ky things will happen.

We actually live undercover, posing as ordinary people, in various countries around the world.

[Thyerata]

Mods, when you joined NS all those years ago, what influenced your initial decisions about your nation's characteristics? E.g., Monitor, why did you choose to be a steamship? Blaat, why is your nation sheep-based?

[Araraukar]

*snip*

^That.

Though many of them are a little intimidating, they're just humans who happen to like this place enough to keep it a suitable habitat for people on the Internet, and as such are allowed to have their private life separate from their online life, just like the rest of us.

And also I firmly believe that the "Voice of Mod" TGs come from an AI that actually runs this whole show, rather than individual human beings... or I would, if it didn't make spelling errors. Although, if it's sapient, it might make the spelling errors to appear human. Me and my paranoia are going to go whimper under my safety blanket now...

[Farnhamia]

You see, what the mods DON'T want you to know is that they're a secret police force for not only NS, but several nations. They live and work in a complex on some agencies (CIA, MI5, who knows?) black site on an island. They covertly DEAT nations, invade forums, and some of them have killed. Don't ask how I know this, but if they DEAT me forever, share this 9 times with your friends or sp00ky things will happen.

*chuckles, "Black site ... heh," and makes a note in Perland's Permanent Record"

[Socio Polor]

You see, what the mods DON'T want you to know is that they're a secret police force for not only NS, but several nations. They live and work in a complex on some agencies (CIA, MI5, who knows?) black site on an island. They covertly DEAT nations, invade forums, and some of them have killed. Don't ask how I know this, but if they DEAT me forever, share this 9 times with your friends or sp00ky things will happen.

I'll be sure this info get's sent to wikileaks. If I go missing or get assassinated. Tell my family...I love them

[Charlia]

You see, what the mods DON'T want you to know is that they're a secret police force for not only NS, but several nations. They live and work in a complex on some agencies (CIA, MI5, who knows?) black site on an island. They covertly DEAT nations, invade forums, and some of them have killed. Don't ask how I know this, but if they DEAT me forever, share this 9 times with your friends or sp00ky things will happen.

I'll be sure this info get's sent to wikileaks. If I go missing or get assassinated. Tell my family...I love them

*dramatically* Tell them yourself!


NERVUN is definitely not a secret organization exploiting the psychological instability of teenagers to use as weapons, though. Definitely not. No idea where anyone could have gotten any such ideas.

[RiderSyl]

Hey mods, what do you do with the populations of all the nations you delete? They have to go somewhere, don't they? Why don't we ever see those billions and billions of people again? Wait, why is there a bag over my head all of a sudden?

[Kyrusia]

Hey mods, what do you do with the populations of all the nations you delete? They have to go somewhere, don't they? Why don't we ever see those billions and billions of people again? Wait, why is there a bag over my head all of a sudden?

I know I take them as ritual sacrifice. Obviously. And because that's the latest fashion, clearly.

[Charlia]

Hey mods, what do you do with the populations of all the nations you delete? They have to go somewhere, don't they? Why don't we ever see those billions and billions of people again? Wait, why is there a bag over my head all of a sudden?

See, that's what I want to know... I love disposing of people.


Um. I don't mean killing them, of course. Killing people is my least favorite thing to do.

[USS Monitor]

Mods, when you joined NS all those years ago, what influenced your initial decisions about your nation's characteristics? E.g., Monitor, why did you choose to be a steamship? Blaat, why is your nation sheep-based?

USS Monitor isn't my first nation, but why I have it: I'm interested in Civil War history, and I'm a Northern girl, so I thought it would be cool to have a nation based on something from the Union side of the Civil War. I considered making a nation based on one of my favorite regiments, like the 20th Maine or 54th Mass., but then I had the idea to do USS Monitor and post from the point of view of the ship itself, and I thought that would be a fun running joke.

Monitor is my mod account because my other well-known nations had names that were inappropriate for moderating: Nazi Flower Power and -Ebola-.

Monitor's really appropriate, though. The guy who named the ship got it from Latin meaning "one who admonishes and corrects wrongdoers."

[Consular]

Monitor is my mod account because my other well-known nations had names that were inappropriate for moderating: Nazi Flower Power and -Ebola-.

Hahaha what? That took me by surprise.

[Ransium]

Mods, when you joined NS all those years ago, what influenced your initial decisions about your nation's characteristics? E.g., Monitor, why did you choose to be a steamship? Blaat, why is your nation sheep-based?

USS Monitor isn't my first nation, but why I have it: I'm interested in Civil War history, and I'm a Northern girl, so I thought it would be cool to have a nation based on something from the Union side of the Civil War. I considered making a nation based on one of my favorite regiments, like the 20th Maine or 54th Mass., but then I had the idea to do USS Monitor and post from the point of view of the ship itself, and I thought that would be a fun running joke.

Monitor is my mod account because my other well-known nations had names that were inappropriate for moderating: Nazi Flower Power and -Ebola-.

Monitor's really appropriate, though. The guy who named the ship got it from Latin meaning "one who admonishes and corrects wrongdoers."

Running joke... Do you mean you aren't really... But... Everything in NationStates is a lie! *storms off*