I "came out" as it were because I figured I could do more good in public as opposed to being hidden. There are advantages and disadvantages to both the invisomod and the public mod system, but when Phade first chose moderators, he believed that invisible moderation was the way to go so we (or they rather, since I was not a mod at the time) abided by that decision. Now, it is our prerogative whether or not we choose to reveal ourselves and I figured I'd do more good out in public than staying hidden. I don't expect every mod to reveal themselves and I really don't
want them to just because Ian and I did. This is not meant to be a form of peer pressure, but just my personal choice.
Nor do I expect (or want) everyone to suddenly respect the Big Bad Forum Admin. Treat me like a human being, which is how I think we should ALL be treating each other. None of this n00b or pro or elitist bullshit. Personally, I don't care how many great or shitty videos you've made, if you're an asshole here, I'll still call you out on it. If that rankles any of you that Phade chose me to moderate here because he knows me personally and knows firsthand how objective I am as opposed to how many AMVs I've made, well go ahead and make it be known then. It doesn't take an editing genius to mod a forum and, according to some people here, the administration has a below average IQ anyways.
For any of you who harbor resentment because you asked to be a mod and weren't, how well do you know Phade? Do you talk to him on a regular basis? Do you actually try to get to know him instead of just asking him about the site? You can talk about how you care about the "AMV community" until your face is blue but it's hard to get the measure of a man if that's all you ever talk about. Personally, if that's ALL you ever talk about, I would think your quest for moderatorhood is more of a status symbol than an actual duty that you are interested in. I'm not saying you should make friends with Phade just to become a moderator, but if you haven't at least tried, I don't see how he should feel comfortable making you one with the knowledge he has of you.
And despite my non-amv creator status, I do know how to do at least rudimentary video editing. It's not rocket science to operate the software.

Does that mean I should go to the video help forums and act like a guru? No, which is why I don't; I leave that to people with more understanding and hands-on experience. However, I do know how hard and time-consuming it can be to make even one music video and if I can't quite sympathize with that feeling, I can at least empathize with it. I came out because I care enough to try to make this forum better than the somewhat sad state I think it's in right now. Is it the worst forum I've ever seen? No, but it could stand some improvement.
As for losing the trust of your friends Klinky, I'm not even sure who these friends are. Do they actually talk to me? Have they ever contacted me randomly to shoot the breeze? Or at all? Have they ever asked me if I was a mod and I outright lied to them? Hell, in addition to warning people (as HCP noted), I've also said so in the AMV chatroom on occasion. Sure, no one seemed to be paying attention at those times, but it was said nonetheless. I feel any resentment towards me from your friends to be unjustified considering they haven't aired their grievances TO me (either directly or indirectly). If I think I've wronged someone, then I will apologize to them. If I don't like someone, I don't hide it and leave it to fester inside my head, I make it clear to them.
I will admit that there were problems here in the past, some of which still continue to be here today. However, not being able to move on from the past is NOT one of my problems and should be dealt with on a personal-basis. My coming out is an attempt to take responsibility for those problems and hopefully resolve them so that they do not continue into the future.
Is there anything else that needs to be addressed?