And it's reallly easy for newbies here to feel that way, but you don't think I started out here as a noob?  Do you honestly think I just registered here and suddenly became a legendary member and all the other stuff?  It did not happen that way, I can assure you.

I used to think Vod was a bully here for all the negs he left those noobs who ask for loans without collateral.  That's exactly how I perceived what he was doing--and that was in 2015 when I had not yet been around long enough to see what's going on in the forum, and how many scammers there were (and still are).  Then it started to make a lot of sense, and I developed a good amount of respect for the man.

This "privilege" of which you speak is ephemeral, fleeting.  I've been here long enough to see true disasters like the MasterP incident, Quickseller's very public disgrace and shaming, and some other 1000 meter falls from grace that I'm having trouble remembering as I type this.  All it would take is for Blazed or Hilariousandco to change their mind and exclude me from their trust list, and *poof* I'm no longer trusted.  That basically just happened a month ago or so. 

This is really just a discussion forum with a bunch of people who don't really know each other, but are trying to construct a trust structure that works.  It's so far from perfect that it's almost laughable, but there you have it.  I'm not privileged, though I am thankful for the trust some folks here have put in me.  To that end, I don't engage in those things I've been condemning for a couple of years:  account selling, scamming, shitposting, and now merit trading.  Those things are toxic to the health of the forum, and thus I lack trust in members who engage in them, and to the extent that I can, I'll continue to tag said members. 

If you think I'm doing this out of a lust for power or for personal gain, I'll just ask you to stick around and perhaps reevaluate your position when you've been here a while and you see what's what.