I believe Jims advise is good advice and probably should be stated every now an then even without incident. It helps keep honest folk honest.

Forums are probably the hardest means of communication as there is no inflection of voices to be heard or no eye to eye contact to affirm that others are understanding the spirit of the comments we make. Hard to get a fix on where people are coming from at times.

In my experience the death of a forum comes right after a small group of folks dominate the conversation and use the sight as a personal meeting place. Participation drops drastically and newbies don't hang around long. Newbie participation is the best marker of a healthy sight and what will in turn drive participation in the sport. The more the better because without participation in the sport there is less reason for keeping the wild places wild. So a lot rests on our stewardship.

jimmyb