I see that it is now appears to be accepted that our forum is here for the benefit of its 'moderators'.

When did I say that?

In case it wasn't clear, the moderators are here for the good of the forum. The requirement for moderation has been set by Max, a long long time ago. If you believe the forum needs to be unmoderated, you'll have to convince him first. If you believe the site owner is wrong and you're not prepared to live with the conditions he imposes on the site, feel free to leave.

If Max decided that documenting changes was required, the moderators would have to decide whether they wanted to stay as moderators (with the extra time that would take), or whether they wished to give up being moderators. Fine. But until Max (or Joe or Jeff, as the people who run day-to-day stuff) decides that this is required, it is not compulsory on the moderators to do this. You can request it, but if they disagree then you have no standing to insist on it.

But I am not a recent arrival

As a matter of fact, in a rather crucial way you are. You were on the site ages back, yes, but you left (voluntarily) several years ago due to similar disagreements. You then returned to the site some time later. At that point, things were exactly as they are now. It was absolutely your choice to return to the Mudcat, knowing full well what the conditions were.

Graham.