I have to throw my 2 cents in here.
I actively own a message board that I Admin and I have been involved in several message boards over the years. The PM system is PRIVATE. Moderators and Admins are not supposed to be able to see PM's and they also should have no control over what goes on in PM's. If there is a problem with someone PMing you then you should block or ignore them. The Mods and Admins should not have to interfere with something as private as a PM. The PM system SHOULD BE PRIVATE and the mods/admins shouldn't be involved. In other words, if someone is bothering you in a PM..deal with it on your own..don't involve the Mods/Admins unless it is on a public forum.
To take the PM system away is ludicrous. Do you know how many people PM me per week asking for advice? Several. Now they can't do that? That is really, really sad. I am very disappointed in this decision. Yeah I know everyone can't be pleased all the time, however this is a low blow.
As for the Mods here..I am sorry but I rarely see them take an active part in this board. There was a time when both myself and mamamichelle asked to be Moderators on this board and we were both turned down. At that time, we were very active posters with tons of information to share with newly banded members. I believe being a Moderator means taking an active role in this board, learning about the members, watching for trouble, and trying to resolve any issues people have with one another. I have yet to see that be done here.
With the correct amount of staff on this board with the correct amount of dedication this could be a very pleasant board to share our weight loss journey with one another. I have seen this work on boards with way more members than this one..I know it works firsthand! To take away all our special feautures is enough for me to seek another weight loss support group other than this one.