In the not-for-profit bricks and mortar world (museums and glleries and the like), 'footfall' is one indicator.
And that seems to be pretty healthy here - new people all the time, and a healthy core of regulars. None of whom seem to be as exercised about censorship as you are.

Many of those regulars are long gone and some who remain are far more exercised about censorship that I am. For some of these now impose it as they wish on their fellow posters but remain free of any accusations from you of being over-exercised by censorship.

Perhaps it is the nature of censorship its victims and those who try to limit its use - will alway be more exercised about censorship than the censors?

And most of us seem happy just to sit and watch censorship being imposed on others...........

Here are the views of one of them - who does not seem to judge that our forum is as healthy as you appear to.

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. Ebbie's suggestion about putting Secret Santa in the music section is a very simple answer to one major objection I had to members-only BS posting - duh, why didn't I think of that?

So, short of members-only posting, what can we do to bring peace to this place? I'd rather have another solution, but I haven't been able to think of one.
-Joe Offer-