to which the response was
Can we all please grant mnementh his wish.
That's not the same message that was there before but if that includes having a civil discussion by all means.
I'm not aware of what was in the previous version of that message. (Until you pointed that out, I didn't even notice the "edited at..." text)
I would like to see the discussion return to being civilised - before this thread comes on the moderators' radar.
Somewhere, a few months ago, this thread did come to Dave's (and Simon's?) attention for reasons I forget. My response to him was something to the effect that the thread welcomed newcomers and was self-policing; while it did veer off topic, the denizens guided it back, and I didn't feel there was need for him to pay it any attention. I couldn't make that statement at the moment.