oh kundalini! i do sympathise with the tough job you have. i was moderator on another board once and the angst it caused me trying to discern when i should step in or give freedom! i think many people take it for granted the tough decisions you guys have to make.

it's hard because i believe nothing is just black and white....but very grey. knowing when to act on a belief is tough. and very confusing. but you come out stronger for it.

personally i don't believe the board has become about stroking egos. coming from a family where i was discouraged more in the name of growth...i've learnt that encouraging people instead of criticising, is a more powerful, effective and a more light filled way of helping people find their true potential both in personal and spiritual growth.

i've had to fight this dark kind of judgement all my life to learn to love myself and others more. to me it's about love. and acknowledging what i can learn positively from the people who have tripped me up.

therefore i am not really a believer in "banning" people just because they create dischord. as jaycee pointed out, we can choose to ignore certain posts. but outright unnecesary criticism and downright disrespect can also do so much harm. i find it hard not to speak up against unfairness and harsh words. hopefully everyone can work on situations like these together...like you are suggesting...and find ways to band together when the board's happiness is threatened unnecessarily. some people are stronger than others and it would be a shame of people were "scared off" because of over developed egos getting away with too much abuse etc.

we are all different here, and we don't always agree but we can work together like a jigsaw and balance the dark and the light, the right and the left, the storm and the calm...as humans i believe we all experience all these ourselves .

i am not very eloquent, and the left side of my brain where one constructs arguments etc, is slightly underformed and it upsets me that i will be judged harshly by some of the people you allude to, because of this. but they can only get to me if i let them. the same goes for this board. it can stay strong and learn from these people who judge and criticise so much. we are all human and we all have strong reactions to people who challenge us. it would be a shame if these lessons were taken away from us because of banning.

BUT, i do understand that as a moderator you need to protect all here. and keep the atmosphere where we encourage new members and old to join and both teach and learn together. it would be awful if the darker way of speaking and "teaching" took over.

i don't mean to simplify things so much by referring to "dark" and "light". this is not a george lucas film but there are extremes here. it would be nice to balance them. it's hard for us all.

so after all that waffle from me...i understand both ways of dealing with this. but am still on the fence about it. sorry i was of no help in the end. i just get verbal diorrhoea