'scuse a two-penn'th from a newcomer here . . but like most of us (I'd guess) I've been throught these arguments elswhere more than once . .

Free speech (a relative term anyway) does not mean the freedom to say what you like where you like . . If you liken Mudcat to a club there comes a point where someone's behaviour, and refusal to modify that behaviour, means you have to "request" them to leave for the sake of the other members.

Trouble is, once you've done that once it becomes SO much easier to do it a second time . . and a third . . Until the club's frank and forthright discussions and argument are replaced by a cicle of smug, self-congratulatory back-patting.

So - I'd guess Max's decision was the right one this time, but that makes it harder rather than easier to get it right next time!

G.