I agree with Homeowner, and feel that while it is nice to banter with the Mods, however, that sometimes compromises their neutrality. Mods should ideally be totally neutral and behind the scenes. People do sometimes feel awkward and afraid to express an opinion that runs counter to the mods for fear of being banned. In all fairness though, I have noticed that most of the time they do a great job of allowing opinions that they do disagree with. However, sometimes they get angry at a poster, which is very tough on the poster, much more than when a regular poster disagrees.
On the other hand, I understand that the Mods are human, and one can’t read posts for hours without wanting to join in the conversation and express an opinion. So it is a difficult issue to resolve.
I also regret that many interesting threads have been closed. Normally the people here are menschlach enough not to allow flaming and hurt feelings to take place without strongly castigating the offender. The CR usually has a self-correcting nature to it. Only obvious comments meant to disrupt or totally off-color should be moderated. Hashkafa is a much tougher topic, since there is a wide spectrum of opinions that have valid sources.
I do agree that multiple screen names should be banned immediately. In my case I once had to reregister, but just used Pashuteh Yid 2.0. I still think I am banned from main news board, and may reregister as Pashuteh Yid 3.0. But there is no intent to deceive or create multiple personas.