Don't scare the Horses!

[Jez]

 warning  Sorry but I'm afraid I disagree to varying extents with most of that Mark. Here's my take on things...

I didn't buy the (at the time) worlds fastest motorbike for reasons of economy, safety or being responsible. I do like to leg pull the "I never break the speed limit" and have  "National Trust" , "I slow down for horses" and prob RSGB stickers on the back window of their Honda Accord with a tartan rug over the back seat types! Sorry.

I do see ULEZ as a tax on the poor as  only the poor would be using a car so old as to be non compliant. No doubt with such a small percentage of cars not complying, and most of them only 1000 or 1100cc as the owners can't afford anything else, they make bugger all difference to pollution anyway. They're also the least able to pay fines over ULEZ of course. Ban the "look at the size of my car! I must be really important! And if I crash into you I'll be alright Jack in my urban tank" 6L V8 SUV's! Not the 15 year old 1000cc Fiat Punto old banger that the owner only just manages to keep on the road

Of forums generically... People making stupid and annoying rules should not get away without criticism and a bit of Micky taking for it IMHO. The whole forum shtick seems to try and make it some closed shop so all forum owners can do and say whatever the hell they like in their own little fiefdoms and never have to answer for it, as of course criticism of the rules and of the moderators are never allowed... rather like some totalitarian state....  the closed shop meaning all other forums seem to have a rule about "you can't have a whinge about it here either". So they get away with anything and everything without ever getting even a tongue lashing for it... unless you want to start your own forum just to criticise them! 

Whilst you seem to be the most sane and reasonable of forum owners I've come across so far, as someone who's been almost put out of business, due to forum owners banning me from their sites for telling the truth about audiophoolishness (and refusing to back down when 20 audiophools have a pile on at me), I have a somewhat strained relationship with forums, and particularly "little Hitler" forum owners and mods who seem to get off on wielding their tiny... erm power...  playing silly power games with the lives of people who, if eg into vintage radio, really rely on the forum to chat with other enthusiasts, arrange swaps, hear about radio jumbles etc etc and even to assuage the loneliness many suffer as they get older (I know!). 
Forums can become more important to people, for all sorts of reasons, than is sensible

(Oh and I'm sure many will have had the "pleasure" of a forum owner or mod somewhere on the interweb taking a personal dislike to them and applying the rules rather more harshly towards them than to others.... whilst their pals seem to be able to bend and break rules this way and that without consequence. Anyone recognise that?)

Yeah it's only a place where sad old men discuss even sadder older radios to some people, but it's a way of life to those involved in it (or put car forum, hi fi forum, fishing forum, whatever in place of vintage radio... same difference) and the last thing we need is the biases, favouritism, personal dislike of a member, hobby horses etc of all-too-human forum owners and moderators making it a place where one feels like they are constantly walking on egg shells. Just my ha'porth on the subject, generically of course  ("Putting his foot in it for saying what loads of others are thinking since 1965" TM   )

 over