Though this issue has become polarised into Guests vs. Members, the real trouble is flaming/trolling vs. censorship. I have seen plenty of guest posts which are interesting, amusing and enriching, and I have seen nasty and pointless posts by members. There do seem to be more guest-flames than member-flames (though I haven't tallied them) but I don't believe for a minute that it's because members are of superior character. It's just that having an exclusive identity – even a pseudonym – which people can reply to and trace does tend to act as a behaviour brake. And, let me tell you, writing under your own full name concentrates the mind wonderfully!

Since one of the basic conflicts is the question of freedom of speech, what about setting up a perma-thread and then transferring all the insults, rebuttals, name-calling and fights from every thread into it, regardless of the sender's status? People can then slug it out as much as they want but not dilute the original thread with off-topic distractions; and it would be irrelevant who is a member and who is a guest. The thread-name (or at least its key words) would have to be included as part of the header of each new message, but that doesn't seem to be an insurmountable problem. I know it's a bit inconvenient for the flamers, but it would still give them a forum while keeping the initial subject on course. Where a flame was first posted in a particular thread, the space could be retained but the text transferred to the perma-thread, with a standard notice redirecting the viewer to it. It may not be immediately apparent that a flame-war is going to ignite, but once it has, all contributing parties can be moved en masse, with a notification of where to look if you want to read it.

Yeah, I know: Who decides when something is a flame and when it's simply healthy dissent? Somebody has to, and own my feeling is that he who pays the piper… But at least everyone would be able to see how the judgements have been made, and they all have the chance to speak freely. Also, these consequences are a result of something which one has chosen to do of his/her own will (i.e. post a particular type of message), not something that he/she IS (i.e. A Member or A Guest) so an element of control lies with the sender. This should help ease the division because the perma-thread would not be populated exclusively by one "side" or the other.

I'm sure someone is bound to comment that it's too much like being made to sit in the corner facing the wall. But what are the alternatives? Ongoing pollution with negative energy? Censorship? A widening shell-scarred no-man's-land between members and guests?