All I can say is that I have found this thread to be very enlightening as a non mainstream forum user. I now understand many of the issues surrounding post deletion and editing. I am very pleased that Dave has decided to maintain the Status Quo as it does seem to work OK. Even my major post self deletion event in the E4 thread did not bring the sky crashing down on us and that was a VERY special case. I like the idea of deleted posts leaving a 'place marker' as one serious result of my deletions was to mess up Mike and Tauchers links to crucial posts that they had made. Those Gents had to edit their links to take account of the change in message numbers. I am sorry for that and told them so. As stated, the brain cells were asleep that evening !
If noting else, this thread has aired the topic well and will hopefully be read by many. If I had read such a thread before my actions in the E4 thread, I would have done it differently and via the moderators who could have advised me of the best course of action to achieve the required objective.
I hope that xrunner will stick around and that feathers become unruffled in time. This is normally a very friendly forum and I have seen no bullying or belittlement in this threads from Dave. When polarised views collide, there will always be some sparks but I feel confident that no malice is intended in this case by either party.
Party On Dudes and be excellent to each other