I hope that the locking of the thread with a similar title to this one meets with the approval of the majority (if not everyone) and let me say a big thank you to all of the contributors for an entertaining few weeks. Something like this can sometimes be divisive but I actually think that it will make the community stronger. We have got to know a lot more about each other...our strengths and otherwise...our sensitive points ....and we discovered a wealth of humour too. Has it not also slightly improved the gender imbalance...?
What it really demonstrates is the passion that so many people feel about being part of a great "club" - If people didn't care, they wouldn't have been so vocal and involved. We now have loads to talk & laugh about when we next get together on a face to face basis, be it E131E10, GKMR10, 3MA11 or any other event.
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For the main players involved in the debate, you have argued your positions articulately and with a devotion rarely seen. I know I'd like
all of you on my side in a fight!
So will there be anything learnt.....? Certainly as a moderator, things will be slightly different in the future. Intervention by moderators has been extremely rare up to this point but I think that will change...at least, the
preparedness to intervene will change. It's a fine line to tread when holding this responsibility. Theo, Simon and I really just want to be "one of the lads" too you know ...and to gain enjoyment from participation. Having this secondary role and responsibility is a voluntary thing and a role that we hope we can each carry out fairly. It does also depend on forum members to report items that they feel should be considered for moderation .....it is not always possible to see inside someone's head to identify if offence has been caused. Having said that, please be conscious that more postings may be edited or deleted than before (with or without notice) and if this makes the community a more pleasant place to spend time for the majority, then that is the justification. In my view, this is the best English speaking (for the most part
) Fiat forum (not just 131s) in the world (probably the universe but I can't be sure) and if more moderation is required to preserve that, I (we) make no apologies.
Please, everyone, consider your continued participation with the above in mind.
The entire (other) thread may be removed in it's entirety shortly. Any new threads dealing with the same subject are likely to be nipped in the bud, mainly because very few people remain interested and further debate carries risk. Meantime, if anyone has any burning issues about anything, it can often be more effective to use PMs as an alternative...or even the old fashioned telephone
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