RichardRussell wrote: ↑Sun 24 May 2020, 09:29
Can I remind everybody that the hosting package which supports this forum comes up for its annual renewal on 2nd July
One month today!
I conclude from the almost total lack of response that there are no strong feelings one way or the other about whether this forum should continue to exist.
I'd like to see you continuing to support the community: whether you choose to do that here or at the Stardot forum seems moot. I guess it is for you to balance the advantages of having your "own" forum vs the cost of hosting it. It seems to me that if there are people who don't want to use this forum if you are posting then they will feel the same about using Stardot if you are posting. Either way, they have the option of using Kendall's forum.
One issue is the resource that this forum offers as a reference site, which would presumably be lost if you chose to shut it down, but maybe that's just a price we have to accept if you prefer to move your support to the Stardot forum.
there are no strong feelings one way or the other about whether this forum should continue to exist
That's a simplification. My view is that this forum without your input has very few merit. With your input it is an excellent means to interact. See previous posts.
Because you don't want to be moderated for a number of reasons the choices are "a forum with Richard's input unmoderated" or discontinuing the forum altogether. It is my educated guess/conviction that the latter is not the vast majority's preference.
My views :
the people that feel "disturbed" by your style (not me) can always choose to switch to another channel
the moderator keeps out of discussions on style and limit the scope of his intervention to technical content only and without delaying publication
the biggest hurdle : you could choose to ignore negative comments unless you think, based on your own personal criteria, that, in hindsight, you've crossed a line. In all other cases just put it aside, do not engage in a discussion, not even if mailed to you directly bypassing the forum. But of course that is entirely up to you. (Are they so frequent ? Are they still coming? Is it from an minority of users?)
Emotion is in part involved here. So I may have oversimplified the issue, but then who am I?