Regarding those in the Count Catula Club, first Joe said the posts were fair game, then he said the one referred to above should not have been deleted. Pick the opinion which is most appropriate to your need.

Brought to you by A.D.D.^[1]: Anybody remember those children's things you could buy with the shiny black cardboard and the flat plastic images that would stick to the board and each other? Did they have them in the UK? I had 101 Dalmations. There were oodles of plastic puppies, and Cruella DeVille and other characters, and their clothes (not the puppies, which were nude (except for spots)). Do they still make these things? I used to like the way the plastic bits smelled.

Regarding the original subject which has been largely forsaken in favor of following where Shambles leads, I think people have a right to know about incidents that may affect them directly.^[2] I do NOT think Mudcat has an obligation to provide a place to do that. I definitely don't think it's the place for people to engage in malicious and potentially career wrecking gossip or trial by public opinion. If folks need to talk about how much they hate a person or how big of an asshole/idiot/witchfinder general he/she is, they should at LEAST do so using the same sort of polite language Shambles uses when discussing Joe.

^[1]Be the first to figure out what made me think of this and win a prize.
^[2]Personally, a drunk guy popping an obnoxious guy in a club somewhere far away from me doesn't seem like it's going to be something I really need to know about or talk about. I enjoy a tabloid as much as the next person, but the people gossiped about in them have money for lawyers and lawsuits. I don't think it's fair to folk musicians who can't afford to sue and wouldn't get any blood from this stone anyway.