Wesley S came up with the following [posted in the latest 'hug and prayer complaint thread]- it says more in a few lines than I can ever manage, in my long-winded way.

Grant our members and guests the serenity to accept the things they cannot change - the courage to change the things they can - and the wisdom to realise that this is a forum open to the public and that they have no control over the posts and ideas of others.

Kevin said:

My feeling about censorship and moderating on the Mudcat is that it's probably about right at present. That's based on the fact that, so far as I can remember, I've only once come up against a situation where I've noticed that a thread has been removed when I felt it shouldn't have been, and I don't think that's a bad record.

But I'd be uncomfortable about having significantly more tidying up, especially if were just about language as such.

Not too sure if I can see that anyone, who matters, is too worried about how uncomfortable you, I or anyone else feels on the forum.

But because you may not have noticed or not often come up against a situation where someone you know has been raped - it does not mean that the single victim does not deserve your concern, that rape generally is not a terrible crime or that the police generally have a good record of preventing rape, does it?.

But whatever you or I may come up against or feel - it is the victim's experience that matters. I think you would agree that even one rape is one rape too many - although I somehow rather doubt that you will use words that will make this agreement very clear?

As for the current level of censorship and moderation being about right. Is the level of this the issue? Indeed, how would you or I measure this level - if it were? If you have never had censorship imposed upon your contribution, you may consider that the level is just about perfect - if censorship has been imposed upon your contributions, you could be forgiven perhaps, if you thought it to be excessive, both in manner and in frequency?

The one instance you refer to where you thought a (entire) thread was wrongly removed (along with all the invited contributions of many posters) is enough to cause concern and indicate that this may be just the sign of what may be a much bigger problem? Indeed when I first came across such an event - I did not make the assumption that it was a one-off. I made a point of finding out if it was or not and established that it was not an isolated occurence at all.

Even if the one instance you noticed and referred to was just one poster - is not this victim and their feelings enough concern? When it is a entire thread, is it not even worse?

Being granted serenity is one thing - complacently ignoring the full implications of what you consider 'shouldn't happen' - is just choosing to live in a 'cloud-couckoo land'. I feel that given your concern on so many issues that you would not tolerate this in the real world - without a concerted attempt to 'get to the bottom of it' or to change it. However, I am often wrong.