I fully intended last night to send both HiPD and petkow PMs, following their exchange on this thread, and I shall still do so. However, in view of some misrepresentations, and some confusion that has arisen, I believe that it is necessary to publicly post some clarifications.
HiPD, please do not pretend to know more about what I think than you do. You just make yourself look ridiculous, and cause unnecessary trouble, that way.
Secondly, I shall seriously fall out with you if you grossly misrepresent what I have told you. I did reply to your PM query about petkow and polls, but all that I told you was there had been some discussion, at some length, on another board, and that he was in favour of them. I did NOT say, or in any way imply, that I thought petkow was being a pain about this. You seriously misrepresented my position, and I shall thank you to stop trying to use me to aggravate petkow.
( It is true that we did disagree about the usefulness of polls, but my willingness to let him trial them shows that I am open to being persuaded otherwise about this issue. )
...and I didn't specifically say that you did so either.
petkow, your first 2 sentences were: "Thanks for enabling Polls Mobaholic.
Thank you for reminding me to use them".
Where did you indicate any change in the person whom you were addressing ?
Secondly, you have twice made unsubstantiated allegations about 'glove puppetry', and multiple accounts, which are unworthy of you. I know of no evidence for this. HiPD's connection to the forum is, and always has been, unique to him, and is not shared by any other member.
( Of course this guarantees nothing, as I know no personal details of any member's identity other than what he chooses to disclose to me. But even Oron, with all of his love of imposing rules, could stop some multiple user accounts slipping past him. Do you remember non_mercury_fan, and Paul Varjak, on the no-longer-nifty forum ? When I reported what I believed to Oron - not making snide posts I might add ! - he simply told me that he could not see that they were the individual whom I thought. He was not prepared to take any action without evidence. This is one principle that I have to follow myself. So HiPD's account is a single one, at least until any evidence is produced to the contrary. )
Lastly, it was outrageous of you to suggest that whatever views HiPD expressed were indicative that "no-one in the forum management is interested in allowing its users to come to a democratic consensus on such matters (or anything else)....." You knew this to be UNTRUE - not least because Mikael had spoken up as being in favour of polls in the Senior Members board thread, and you knew him to be more positive about them than I am, or was !
From my own perspective, I think that HiPD is still stuck in the past. I understand that he had a rough and bruising time on the other forum, which is one reason why I am sympathetic to him, and he may well have seen petkow there as being a something of a stooge for Oron. I did myself, when he forwarded one of my private PMs to Oron, who immediately threatened to ban me ! But petkow has left there now: the past is no longer relevant. Things have moved on ! You need to know HiPD that petkow is here with my warm welcome. He has already made a tremendous contribution by way of posts. I shall not get rid of him to please you.
And petkow, you need to know similarly that HiPD has made his own 'colourful' contribution here. He is 'part of our furniture' ! He, too, is staying.
I appeal to you both to settle any outstanding issues between yourselves via PMs. I do not wish to see you being like a terrier at petkow's heels HiPD. And neither do I want to see any unsubstantiated allegations from you again petkow. You are both far too valueable to the forum to dispense with either of you. So please forgive and forget the past, settle your differences, learn to coexist, and start to collaborate constructively. That would be one of the most constructive ways you can both help the forum.
Thank you.