I have to agree that there should be some kind of designation for mods. Not so that we "behave" properly only when they are around, but authoritarian purposes. I have played numerous MMO games, and there are so many players that pretend to be a mod for trolling purposes. For me if I see someone just stating they are a mod, and requesting that I do something, due to the other games I have played, I personally tend to blow them off. Does that mean I'll be rude to them..no, not at all...but it does mean the odds are very good that I will ignore them or what they are instructing me to do. Hence this could escalate into something of a miscommunication in which it is perceived I do not care what the mod has to say...but it is actually me ignoring the mod becuase i do not believe in who they are on face value due to past gaming history. I seen the forum on the drama that took place earlier, and in no way am i defending things said to the mod, as silence is sometimes the best thing, but if there was a color or designation, I think the mod would have been taken seriously immediately, and then if someone does not follow their instructions..immediate disclipline could be taken, rather than let me try and prove to you who I am type thing.
Also someone earlier mention a mod being incognito for certain purposes, and again I can agree with that. I am unsure the "behind the scenes" of how chat works but even if there is a incognito mod in the game room, I think there should be a mechanism in place that a mod can "interupt" any chat room in the mod designation color or symbol and give instructions. An example in another MMO, the dev/mod/gamemaster can just enter the chat with their designated account name/color but not be part of the party or group that is in the instance.
So with that all the wind is out of my sails so I must go now lol