That's the nature of the Internet. I've visited many forums devoted to people or subjects of interest to me and all of them have trolls, bullies, jerks, kooks, and clowns.
I understand your experience here is different than mine, but take a step back and try and understand the fundamental structure of this site: Solo is basically just a reservoir for information and a place of exchange among fans. The fans create the content. If Morrissey is actually upset about how "toxic" the environment is on this site, he's really knocking his own fans, not David. Why should David be criticized for giving the fans a platform to speak? Aren't the fans to blame?
It seems to me that if Morrissey doesn't like Solo, it's because he probably still believes, more than anyone else, the stale and insupportable myth about Morrissey "apostles" being a uniform brigade of polite, bookish, well-spoken gladioli-waving librarians. Some are like that, and some aren't, but all of them are fans, a handful of creeps and trolls excepted. Why should anyone be excluded?
No, if this site has a problem it's that David gives people too much freedom, not too little. These are the voices of Morrissey fans. We may not always like to hear ourselves, but there it is. And in any case it sounds like you don't mind the principle of censorship at all. You are okay with silencing some voices, so long as they are the right voices who go missing. I hear what you're saying, but that's just not how these sites work. Like I said, I don't know about the individual cases of "moderator abuse" you bring up, but this site, for the most part, is a model of what a fan community can be. I love some of the other Morrissey sites on the web, but in terms of a fan community nobody else has come close. There's a reason.
If I could tell Morrissey one thing, I would tell him to spend a few hours a day on the web, every day, reading various sites made up of primarily user-created content. He would soon understand that most of the problems with this site are the same problems found anywhere else on the web. Look around. It's not pretty.
You're totally missing the point. I don't have any problem with people expressing their ideas, views... Anything. The problem is that the mods are biased. They play favorites. They are hypocritical. They don't stop personal attacks if they're generally fond of the attacker, or if the attacker is a long time member. It is ABUSE that is the issue. Personal insults, mocking, belittling, calculatedly offensive behavior -- That's what I'm talking about.
I can't believe I'm having to explain this. It should be so obvious. It's possible to disagree with someone vehemently without insulting them, belittling them, etc.
See, everything we do and say creates a certain dynamic. If you allow bullies and trolls to get away with being bullies and trolls, that makes decent people leave and not come back. Nobody wants to stay where that kind of thing is tolerated. Eventually you end up with a site full of assholes who post things like, "Hey, why is Solo so dead?" It amazes me every time this happens. You REALLY don't know why Solo is so dead?! Nobody wants to put up with name-calling, belittling, personal attacks, trolling, baiting, etc. Even before the new site people would leave here in disgust. Most of the people I've met on the tours tell me they'll never go back to Solo because it's such a harsh place. It's HARSH! And it's that way because the mods allow their buddies to get away with it.
I'm not saying I think it should be all super-nicey-nice in here all the time. People should be able to express themselves unless they're abusive. Why don't the mods in here seem to know what abuse is? Or care?
You're wrong when you say that the fans create the content. The lowest member of any society will set the tone if lawlessness prevails. Always.
Your priorities are screwed up. You were too harsh on JJ (who was acting out due to anger and frustration) and you're too lenient with actual bullies. The TOS is meaningless because it's vague enough that the mods can interpret it any way they like. And do.
Also, you're wrong about Morrissey. He knows very well what goes on on the internet and he knows who his fans are. Anyone who has paid attention to this site for any significant amount of time can plainly see what's happened here.
"Why should anyone be excluded?" you say? Because decent people don't let jerks run the show. We should exclude people who are willfully offensive or abusive. Yes, those people should be excluded... Because if they are not they will take over. They already have taken over.
What do you think would happen if you let all the criminals out of prison? What if getting the police to protect you from them was like pulling teeth? Wouldn't the regular people hide? Leave that town? Lay low? Wouldn't the criminals take over? What if the police started allowing murderers and rapists to go free, but arrested people for jaywalking? That's the situation here at Solo, only on a smaller scale... But that IS the dynamic.
"No, if this site has a problem it's that David gives people too much freedom, not too little." We agree, somewhat. He gives the mods too much freedom and he gives the loud-mouthed jerks too much freedom. He allows people to be banned simply because a mod doesn't care much for them or for posting a photo of an old naked guy too many times. It's so clearly screwed up!
Are you suggesting that people comment with Morrissey's sensibilities/reputation in mind?
Of course not. I'm talking about the mods. I'm saying that they should try to foster a site that strives to allow for all voices to be heard, not just the hard-ass jerks who attack, deride, and generally make Solo a cesspool.