Here's my idea for moderator guidelines. Feel free to post any changes you think would be good.

Moderator Guidelines

-When taking action against a user, do not punish them. Your goal is never, under any circumstances, to punish a user. Your only goal is to stop them from breaking the same rule again.
-You are not excepted from the rules, but are expected to follow them even more closely than a normal user. Remember, a user can report you, and you can get banned, just like anybody else. Being a part of the staff does not give you any extra privileges as far as rules go.
-Make a list of who you take action against and why. You never know when or why you will need it.
-As a staff member, you are subject to harassment that is taking place within the rules. Try to tolerate it. It's not worth the effort to fight back, and it will only get you in trouble, which is usually what the user wants to achieve in the first place. Instead, try to joke about it, or use another method that keeps you calm. Cheesy jokes tend to work the best. If they ask you to ban them, say that they can do that themselves. All they need to do is unplug their keyboard.
-Don't release information available only to staff members. If the normal users can't read it, there's a reason. Keep it that way.

this is all pretty obvious, but good post for thos ewho cant spot the obvious ^_^

Sounds like you have experience in calming the waves. I agree with everything you posted.

Neutrality is one aspect that makes great moderators. Practicing patience is extremely important.

We'll pin this for the moderation team. As with everything else on the site, everything is subject to change.

In a month or so when the site grows and these guidelines have formed a bit more it should be a "first step" instruction for members in the community who wish to become moderators.

topic moved to community and pinned*

Glad you like it! I got most of the ideas from being a RuneScape moderator... maybe it has bad graphics, but their moderating system is awesome

and to all moderators(theres only 3 at the time, right? well, this is for future mods i guess), pleas ehave a moderator sig. a mod sig states that you are a mod(or admin, if thats the case), and has stuff like for help, pm me, or some rules, or like "please use the report post button" or stuff like that. just take a look at my sig, or supertech's sig.