'The whole point of the thread' smacked, to me of insufferable smugness; what WLD described as 'far too damn pleased with much too little in the way of achievement'.

I'd add to that a far too prevalent attitude of reluctance to pay for what you get

The thread was nothing to do with that at the start but it got highjacked along those lines. Just as many perfectly reasonable threads get highjacked for the personal hobbyhorses of some members.

RS