I have lots to say on this issue, but I'd rather not be drawn into a debate. Nicolaou has been extremely selective in what parts of my PM he has shared with you. The very fact that he has "replied" to my PM with a forum post shows, in my mind, that he isn't so interested in getting answers to his questions than he is in making a public statement because he is emotional on this issue, so for that reason alone it's pointless to get into another protracted debate. I certainly won't be PMing him again, that's for sure - even though I like him as a person and applaud his work on the postcards.
For the record, if anyone PMs me, their messages WILL stay private unless they instruct me otherwise (not the other way round, as Glander suggests). And if anyone is threatened by another forum poster I will stand up for them to the bitter end, because I despise threats and (for personal reasons I will NOT go into) both me and my wife take them seriously. Certainly the LAST thing I would do is taunt anyone who has been threatened or imply that they are overreacting for taking that threat seriously. Others may think that's acceptable, I don't. But hey, we're all different.
All I will say is this. Just because a poster has been on this forum for X amount of years, doesn't (or shouldn't) give them greater immunity from the consequences of breaking the forum rules, or give them a free ticket to derail threads etc. After all, this isn't bethel, where the longer you serve the more "perks" you enjoy. At least I don't believe it should be that way.
For the record, though I'm not in mourning that Slimboyfat was banned, I'm not exactly thrilled about it either. I valued his opinion on subjects where he wasn't simply trying to get under my skin. And as for NN, I find it extremely regrettable that he isn't here anymore, particularly since I also enjoyed his posts and prior to his outbursts in the aftermath of Oompa's death I had no problem with him at all. I sincerely hope that both posters will be back on this forum at some point in the not-too-distant future.
I DO NOT go out trying to get people banned. I simply want people to be nice to one another, and not get so personal with their arguments - calling into question someone's character rather than sticking to the points of disagreement. Disagreeing is fine, but getting personal isn't - at least in my view.
In any case, we must all remember it's not our forum but Simon's, and he gets to choose who he has on here. I'm sure he often despairs at me, and by no means do I consider myself immune from being banned if I overstep the mark. I am certainly not proud of everything I have said over the past few days. I am just as liable to be banned as anyone else if I cause trouble, and rightly so.
Cedars