Am I right in suspecting that most people are like me in not looking at permathreads because we dont understand them? (I'll try it now)

A discussion forum that is freely open to the public is a simple enough concept.

So is the website that this forum is part of.

But there is confusion when attempts are made to combine the two.

If contibutions that need some control or any editorial judgement to be made are confined to the website - a lot of the confusion and argument about what the point of the Mudcat Cafe is and what is the point of the open discussion forum - would be avoided.

Max and whoever he choose to help him are of course free to run the Mudcat Cafe as they wish.

But the discussion forum that is currently freely open for the public's contributions, will be what the public make it. And if some posters do not like what their fellow invited guests post - no one is forcing them to read or respond to any of this and they are free to go elsewhere.

It is that simple so why complicate it by needless intervention when it is accepted that this will never make everyone happy? What this has resulted in, is apperently making everyone unhappy.