[Starkler (Geoff)]

Mick, my post earlier in this thread was a basic overview of what occured. The fact that the person involved chose to make nasty public posts before there was any chance for an explanation of the events ruined any chance for a satisfactory outcome.

As Mike has said, no moderators have deliberately edited or deleted posts because of a difference of opinion, unless such posts breach the forum guidelines are or inflammatory in nature (which hasnt happened before to my knowledge)
Healthy debate is encouraged !

I totally agree with your statement that we are here to talk about our shared love of amatuer astronomy. We want this forum to be a pleasant place to visit and enjoyable for all. I doubt that anybody enjoys reading threads like this or to see bickering in public.

It is most unfortunate that this thread had to be created, and if those concerned followed the correct procedure, the public unpleasantness could have been avoided and we would be talking about astronomy instead.

On the topic of rascist jokes. As this is a moderated public forum , it may be considered a publication in a legal sense, therefore we err on the side of caution as to what can be allowed to be 'published' on this site. The other consideration is that we dont want to cause offence to any racial or minority group and prefer to err on the side of political correctness. We are here for astronomy after all !

Finally, if anyone has any issues with the actions of any persons on the forums, moderators included, I urge them to send a PM and sort it out privately and to not air dirty laundry in public.