I'm on the fence about this issue butI would like to point out some things.

I find it kind of refreshing in a way. Older members are getting their knickers in more of a twist because they're remembering worse flames from gargoyle but, honestly, TTCM and Another Conscience haven't actually been particularly vicious. They have stated an unpopular view about the Mudcat fairly clearly and are sticking around to argue their points.

No, its not pleasant to have somebody say "I want the Mudcat to be like THIS instead of like THAT" when you want the Mudcat to stay the way it is, but what are those who aren't happy with the way things are at the moment to do? Leave? Bear it in silence? Or run the risk that when they say something people will react the way that they have by calling their comments "Flames" and "trolls"?

Many people on this forum discuss things and don't reveal their identities, simple anonymity is not an indicator of a flame. (There is also a sense of humour mingled with the arrogance about somebody calling themselves The True Conscience of Mudcat, but few seem to see it.)

Certainly TTCM's methods are not conciliatory but perhaps he or she is pissed off! Others on this forum have been publicly pissed off and ranted and lashed out at times, generally people have reacted cautiously and politely and addressed the concerns. With this issue more people seem to be getting dismissive and are trying to immediately brush it off. Yes it is a debate that rages as periodically as arguments about the meaning of folk but that doesn't make it any less important to the people involved, or for those who feel that they are not heard or attended to. Women's Lib is an old argument too but the age of the argument doesn't affect the fact that women still get paid less than men do, that equity and equality have not been achieved. The reactions to TTCM seem to indicate as clearly as TTCM suggests him/herself that there is a hierarchy or clique at work and that the status quo does not like to be challenged. This is one topic which is not allowed and those who post frequently and who have an affection for the Mudcat as it is are pulling out all the stops in their efforts to crush it rather than engage in it seriously.

Sophocleese