Old Soldier posted:

Rob, This forum has no equal in Oz as far as I am concerned. It has been in the past, a very happy place where like minded people have exchanged ideas on our wonderful outback, and how to travel it safely and enjoyably. It is NOT a motor vehicle forum where people come together to discuss the pros and cons of any particular vehicle - or "bag" a persons choice in buying a particular vehicle. True, there are many topics about motor vehicles appearing in the forum, but they are usually general questions which are answered by forum members in the spirit they are asked. Lately a lot of this seems to be changing and there are nasty elements creeping in. If regulating this forum will push those elements back out of the forum then I say - Let's regulate. The genuine people who are here to exchange ideas about the bush and how to travel it will not be upset. In fact we can all get back to remaking this forum the great place it once was. there are NO cyber police - that is emotional claptrap. Anyone who is offended by any regulation is probably better off not coming here, and if that includes you Rob, all I can say is "Bye Bye".

Cruiser posted:

On the contrary, Rob. As a number of people have pointed out, this site is about accepting others' opinions. However, there is a difference between 'accepting' and 'agreeing with'. Whilst I acnowledge and support your right (or anyone else's) to hold opinions, I do not always agree with some of those opinions, especially the language in which they are often expressed (this is not aimed at you personally - it is a general comment on some of the recent posts). The more tolerant, educated and experienced forum members also recognise this. The whole concept of a forum is to enable the free exchange of ideas, opinions and information, perhaps to argue a case or even to try and convince others of your point of view. However, the overriding principle needs to be that we can engage in this form of dialogue whilst maintaining at least a modicum of respect for our fellow contributors. This is the same as we would hope for in any social situation you care to think of. We all have the right to be heard - at the same time we all have a right not to be abused or to be subjected to some of the blatant attacks we have seen on the forum recently.
Someone (it may have been you - I can't see the rest of the posts as I am typing this) mentioned self-regulation rather than moderation or control. I would fervently hope that this reply may cause those who flame or abuse to take note. As others have said, this is a great forum. It's up to all of us to show that we are mature enough to maintain our dialogue at a level which will not require David's intervention.
I, for one, would urge you to stay, to express your opinions and to contribute your knowledge and experience.