Actually, Giok, he has his need for attention filled when he baits folks into posting.

If that were the case - I could be sure that a few posters would always bite, refreshing the thread only to make their personal judgements, instruct others not to and blame their compulsion to do this, all on on me.

However, that is not the case and the purpose of a discussion forum remains to enable and encourage discussion.

Not, as now appears to be the case on our forum - finding (fun) ways to judge, restrict and prevent it and to make these clumsy attempts at control and interferance sound honourable.

Especially - when the most effective option open to all posters - is simply not to open, read or respond to a threads's subject that is not to their taste.

A landed and floundering fish could try and shift the blame for their predicament on the irresistible quality and quantitity of the bait. But if they were only able to resist their weakness and ignore any form of bait - there would not be a predicament for them.

Nor would there be so many (closed) threads on this subject, all with tens of hundreds of posts. Like the following.

Shambles still here and why?
Deleted posts & closed threads
Minister gone –New One - who cares
Title change discussion (moved from another thread)
Is closing threads censorship?
Music posts by Guests to be reviewed
Proposal for members only posting of BS
I may disagree with what you say-
Your favourite Shamblism
Why all the closed threads?
Non posting of judgements week
Do we need to curb the troublemakers
Do you need to be censored
Censorship and Attitude rolled into TWO
I may disagree with what you say-
Your favourite Shamblism
Why all the closed threads?
Non posting of judgements week
Do we need to curb the troublemakers
Gallery of Mudcat Quotations
More Noteworthy Mudcat Quotations
Less Noteworthy Mudcat Quotations
Closing threads
In the UK
Cut and pasters creepin' back in
Politics only posters on the cat
A (true) Jelly fish story
Censorship on Mudcat
Max what about Shambles requests
In the UK
Opening threads a debate

This subject is as much a worthy subject for discussion as any other and one that obviously has no shortage of contributors. Perhaps those who post only to judge the subject or only to judge the worth of their fellow posters and feel they have some right to name-call and tell them to **** ***, can just ignore this subject and leave the threads free for those who do wish to discuss all aspects of it?