Andy,

A number of issues caused the closure of the thread.

Firstly, this does set a precedent. We have spent a huge amount of our own time trying to keep things running smoothly, but every time it is opened for debate, the polarised positions get ever more so, and we end up with the same arguments. I would argue that there is nothing more to say. Your report, in my opinion did not answer, with enough clarity, all of the questions demanded of it.

Which brings me to the next point. Whilst I understand that posting here can be like walking into the lions, den, we cannot have a full and fair debate with a major party not willing to enter it. I asked, quite politely, that you enter the fray, to discuss the principal concern, but for your own reasons, you choose not to. I respect that choice, but reiterate; without the input of the people in the ground, we cannot move the debate on.

Lastly, we had a whiff of legal action in the past few days, seemingly from the direction of the sponsors. Now, I don’t believe there was anything contentious in the last few pages of the thread, but quite clearly, some of us were taking a counter view to your own report, in some cases quite vehemently. I would appreciate clarification from your camp in this regard.

I would simply ask you all to remember that the moderators, whether you agree with how we perform our tasks or not, are unpaid volunteers. All we get is a single copy of a Key magazine once a month. When this thread is open, we often spend 2 or 3 hours a day between us monitoring and sorting it out. I think that is too much to expect. Every one of us has come close to throwing in the towel over this thread, and I think we deserve a break.

Right now, the thread is in the trash. That is as disappointing to me as it is to all of you who have an interest in it. It shouldn’t have come to this.

Bruce