If there is a heated discussion on one of our boards, and one of the posters sees poor behavior from another poster, might a warning about going to moderation stop that poor behavior? Are Mods being used as weapons, or is the poster showing courtesy by warning the offending poster that their poor behavior could result in further action? Where I come from, that's called courtesy.
If a poster sees poor behavior from another poster, reports that poster, then thinks better of it after thinking it over, is that poster really using Mods as weapons? Or did the reporting poster have a change of heart? Or was the reporting poster being forgiving? There is a gray area here.
If the Moderators really want to see a decrease in their work load, perhaps they should let us regular posters do what we can to curtail poor behavior before reporting it. If we're allowed to do this, one of two things will happen:
1) The poor behavior stops, or
2) The poor behavior continues, giving the reporting party more justification for their complaint.
So, this whole Reporting Mods as Weapons charge shouldn't be used as much as it is. It should only be used when the person giving the warning is clearly doing it in bad faith. Otherwise, we should assume that the warning from a fellow poster is a genuine attempt to keep the peace without involving the Sheriff.