I agree that Mike and the Mods (great name for a rock band!) need to be able to rest assured that they are not going to become targets of litigation over someone elses words writtten here, but it does seem to me that we are losing / have lost something significant in terms of what has made this forum such a wonderful entity in terms of teaching newcomers and sharing information.
Many people do not have a local astro shop to buy from - I don't, yet over the last 20 months I have purchased 4 telescopes fand 3 pairs of bino's for myself (plus numerous accessories, additional ep's, etc) plus I've bought another 2 telescopes and a pair of binoculars for others and NONE of these was purchased over the counter at an Astronomy vendor!
In fact unless you live in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane or Adelaide then it seems you have very little choice but to deal via phone / internet and purchase remotely from a vendor, hopefully based on the reports of previous experiences and successes or failures of others, and that is one of the great strengths that the IIS community has always had! You want to feel safe and secure in the knowledge that you're hard earned money isn't at risk, and that you'll receive what you wanted, delivered promptly, and in good condition.
If you're buying a $30 cd or other such items this foreknowledge of reliable and honest dealing maybe isn't quite so important, but when you are spending perhaps thousands of dollars on a telescope, hundreds or thousads again on a mount, and hundreds of dollars again (and again!) on eyepieces, accessories, etc you
really want to know about any bad experiences that others may have had, and not just the good ones!
If the ability to openly discuss negative issues re vendors is banned then many people who rely heavily on this kind of free and open commentary may have much less faith in taking the plunge in dealing with such vendors in the first place, which could possibility inhibit the growth and long term success of the astro community in general, and perhaps of the vendors themselves.
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One last point ... this very issue has now apparently caused the IceInSpace community to lose something else important - I was informed today by a long standing member of IIS, who is both valued and
valuable to the amateur astronomy community in general, that he has now withdrawn completely from the IIS site over this issue.
I suspect he may not be the first, or the last.
