What first drew me to this forum was the wonderful stash of quilting information, inspiration, motivation, and the positive atmosphere. I soon found myself getting to know some of the members through their postings and I marveled at the sense of international community that was established here. The amount of support is amazing and I found myself wanting to participate in the help section.
Just like in a regular community, there are happy, sad, frustrating, confounding, and funny events. It is only natural that they all come up in the general chit chat section. Every member brings her or his socioeconomic baggage as well as their personality and spirituality. Everyone also has their own wit, and their own sense of humor. My assessment of the group was that we were a nice blend and there seemed to be room for everyone.
Being a moderator of such a large group cannot be an easy task and I commend the team for taking care of business as efficiently as you have. It appears that you have been bombarded with private messages and I feel your frustration.
My recommendation would join those who suggested "more categories." In another forum, I find the well-defined categories easy to maneuver and those I don't care about easy to ignore. In a prior comment, you said that was not something you wanted to do.
It's not that I don't understand the problems being discussed. I just don't see them the same way. See, I thought things were going swimmingly. I am not privvy to - nor do I care about the personal politics of some members or cliques. Right now, I just wonder how (much) the QB community will change and honestly, outside of this thread, I am very confused about what is and isn't OK to post.