Our forum currently has guests, named-guests, members without edit buttons, members with edit buttoms and anonymous members with edit buttons and the Chief of the Editorial team, who is also a member who wishes also to be accepted as a regular poster.

This is a mix that has and will just create even more division.

A return to forum where all posters and all of their judgements were equal - would perhaps be better?

If or when this was thought necessary - any imposed censorship could be undertaken by moderators - who were not expected to undertake the plainly impossible dual roles of wanting to be free to express their own views and tastes as a poster and at the same time expecting their editing actions (especially those imposed on the fellow members) to be generally accepted as being objective.

The responsibilty for the conduct of members and what appears on our forum has always been up to them - for they are the only ones who ever have any real control over what is posted. Posters and new posters especially will only follow the examples set of what is acceptable and if they are encouraged to follow this example and to concentrate on their own posts - rather than to feel they have any right post only judgements of their fellow posters - peace will at least have a chance of breaking out.

This is the time to review all of this – as the Chief of the Editorial team has publicly declared that this current system is unable to keep the peace.

And despite our best efforts, Mudcat is no longer a pleasant place to hang out and goof off or have a good discussion. So, I think something has to be done.
Joe Offer
In this threadhttp://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=88940&messages=275&page=1&desc=yes

The something that is suggested by the current Chief of the Editorial team is nothing less than the end of the open public involvement in our forum that has always been the case and to turn this into a members only club.