GUEST: Well, I think that calling this a "volatile issue" is putting it a bit strongly (I don't think it ranks up there with the situation in Palestine, for instance). But speaking strictly for my own personal preference, I would like to see the "feminine shaves" thread deleted. I agree with Peg's interpretation of paddymac's opening post on that thread as being of a voyeuristic nature; I think it may have been even solicitous (was he looking for a job when he asked "whether there might be a specialty niche in the various forms of the hair dressing trades for such artistry"?), rather than an innocent query about an "art form". Even if Big Mick is correct in his assessment that paddymac simply made a "tongue in cheek effort", a little joke in reaction to the beard-shaving thread, it didn't come across that way to me.

As you say, the Mudcat moderators have to decide what is best for the Forum. There's been a policy of allowing material here that would be censored on many other forums, but I don't know if private-parts discussions that could be considered titillating have been allowed or deleted in the past, so I don't know what the precedent is for this situation. Bear in mind, though, that a decision to wait and see if the thread "sinks" IS a decision.

If the thread dies a natural death from neglect, I think that that will serve as a signpost to anyone who contemplates starting a similar thread in the near future, a sign that says that the level of maturity among the posters to Mudcat is such that discussions on similar subjects won't give the gratification that one may be seeking by starting such threads. I think this says volumes more than simple censorship by the moderators would say.