First off an apology to Jim Riley.
The first thing I saw after the banner was your avatar with the same name ...... 2 + 2 = 5 and I came out fighting.
You misjudge me if you think it was because it was a "Tory" logo ....... the first time I saw that tag was on this site and I was totally unaware of any back story.Β
It was the blatant "taking over" of the site that angered me. The logo complete obscured the Thunderboat name and was pretty well guaranteed to put off any new person logging onto the site for the first time ..... We have been complaining that we are not getting enough new members and this was something working exactly against that.
I have been marooned by floodwater for about a week now and have not seen a newspaper and I avoid the TV news because of all the lies and bias ..... there is too much to be able to do your own research on nowadays. but any political slant to the logo was irrelevant as far as I was concerned.
Before Thunderboat was launched I was a vociferous opponent of unfair, biased moderation on CWDF and of the banning of members because their views were abhorrent to the majority.
This unfairness extended into the political field and views not in line with those of the "owner" were suppressed.
In my view their actions were in line with those of dictatorships both extreme right and extreme left ...... I find both equally abhorrent.
I was obviously a thorn in someones flesh as I was eventually banned .... not like MJG with hundreds of points ..... I never received a single warning point on CWDF, I was just expunged.Β Β Β Β Β Β Β They invented a new rule for me to breakΒ Β Β Β "Fomenting dissent"Β
When D9 started this site His avowed intent was a site without moderation (apart from when involving legal reasons) and interference with it.
For this I was an early and enthusiastic member, as this is inline with my belief that there should be a level playing field for all discussions/arguments of every political or religious view.
On CWDF I was appalled that the owner and the admin treated the forum as their own personal fief.Β I believe that as the content is the members, the members should in essence "own" the site (In fact in the early days most of us offered to take on the financial responsibility for Thunderboat in one way or another)Β
D9 has kept to this "hands off" approach even when the views expressed were diametrically opposed to his own (Brexit referendum)
If it should prove this was admin based and not due to an external event I will be deeply disappointed.