These type of questions come up time and again. It is not easy for us (mainly Bill and myself) to even attempt to please everyone.
For a long, long while I felt sure that minimal moderation was the key to a successful forum. There were other forums out there that failed, or limped along because (I felt) of oppressive moderation. Thus, I maintained a "less-is-more" attitude about this forum...
However, in practice, it doesn't always work, at least not in my experience. There are countless arguments between members who cannot seem to come to an amicable resolution, and then Bill and/or I are forced to get involved. There are also from time to time legal threats to us as a forum, and to me personally. This I cannot tolerate, and if the resolution to people causing possible legal problems to us results in a little more heavy-handed moderation, than so be it. Bill and I absolutely AGONIZE about those types of decisions, because we both feel strongly that people should be able to moderate themselves. We do it everyday-we don't "take out" the person in front of us because we are sick of waiting in line, we don't beat up our neighbors because their car is in our space. Why should it be difficult here? Ah, but it is...
I am sure that many people register here, read a few posts, maybe get the info they wanted, and then go on their way. I am sure that requiring an ISP email address is off-putting to some, who don't appreciate the requirement (since requiring that however, the bot/spam accounts have gone down dramatically). I am sure that some read a nasty-toned post and think "this place isn't for me." We cannot make this place 100% for 100% of members, regardless of our wishes and attempts.
I have lost friendships because of this forum, and have made friends, too. I would have preferred to not lose anyone, especially some of the "old guard" who were there from the beginning. My interests, too, have waned somewhat, as I can no longer justify buying/trading so many jackets. Simply not the time in my life for that, with a beautiful 10-month old daughter:
In the end, the forum is here for all of you, no matter how often you want to post. I am sure some of you never post at all, and that's ok with us.
If I can ask one thing though, it would be to treat each other as you'd like to be treated, offer up information to new people even if you've gone over it more than a few times already, and most importantly, enjoy yourselves.
Chris