I don't agree that people are being turned away by having inappropriate "conversations" posted to an innocent thread. The important thing is that most of the time their questions are answered, and if they are obviously new to the Forum, someone always greets and welcomes them. See how Catter's jumped to defend Christie from WI, before we realized it was a stupid joke, and Rick's thread on "fingerpickers and flames", describing the culture of rudeness that persists on other music sites. We have it good here, and while I support the effort to keep policing ourselves to maintain the integrity of the community, I don't like to see the natural character of the Forum squelched by those who are afraid that our visitors have no sense of humor.

By the grace of Max annd Co., those of us (you) who spend a lot of time here are permitted to impact what this forum is. It revolves around music, as it should, but there are other elements as well, and visitors who are looking for a straight, crisp, academic Q&A space are not going to be happy here, regardless of whether each thread with a bit of impudence in it is labelled "BS" or not.

That said, I hope that none of our valued members would leave without indicating why they feel the need to do so. Everyone has a voice here; it is not, as Shambles stated in his good-bye tyhread, a "cult of personality", nor should it become one. Growing pains are natural to an evolving community, and if you've been here for a while you know that compromises have been and are being made to accommodate those who want only music discussions here.

Also, I don't care about Anon posters. If they flame, we should ignore them completely, as we should ignore the flamers whose names we know (althopugh we may wish we didn't!!).

Enough sermonizing from me! Ciao!