They should be hidden and only threads should only be viewable by staff + the OP. Right now, the complaint section is just another name for "flame board."
I've thought about that, too... Pretty sure it's possible to make a board or subforum that works that way, I just don't know how. Would definitely cut back on the flaming and be nice... Then again, no one has a chance to defend themselves, when sometimes they need to to avoid an actual unnecessary punishment. :/
Well if there ever needs to be a chance for someone to defend themselves you could make the post public too, could you not?
I think if someone has a complaint about another person, they wouldn't really /want/ them to defend themselves... Most cases, anyway. D:
The users should have the right to defend themselves in the complaints section, as well as any witnesses should be able to support one side. It wouldn't be fair to only hear one side of the story. However, I do feel that the non-productive posts that seem to bring personal vendettas into other peoples complaint threads should result in lose of use of the complaints forum after x many times, which I know is definitely possible.