First off, I appreciate your response, including the background you provide, and your consideration to post it here rather than in the original thread. That was an excellent choice. It took me a while to track down the threads you refer to, and it may not surprise you that my take on things doesn't quite match yours. Allow me to explain.
First of all, the moderators' main task here is to expedite the troubleshooting and to minimize any distractions. As part of that task inappropriate or distracting off-topic posts can and will be removed, and misplaced topics will be relocated to their proper place, just like we did that at our previous MFIF abode. We will shortly publish a full set of Board Rules that explain and outline the policies followed in more detail. Please remember that any rules exist only to provide an unfettered focus on troubleshooting Mac issues, these forums' main raison d'etre, and not for those rules' sake. There certainly is nothing whimsical or arbitrary about that.
Next, the thread in Audio, Video, Photography you refer to dealt with burning a label to disk, one of the topics covered by this particular forum (please check its description in the Forum List). There was no dilemma in choosing this forum for this topic, and I'm not sure why you thought otherwise. Neither do I see a dilemma in the forum choice you made for your query: the Mac OS X 10.0 - 10.5.x was the perfect choice since the core of your question was about the item you wanted to print (a pre-Leopard Finder window), rather than about printing as such. But when you later say 'Evidently, what wasn't allowed in the Audio, Video, Photography forum is allowed in the Mac OS X 10.0 - 10.5.x forum, because now two moderators have done the same thing', I must confess that I have no idea what you're talking about. It seems to me that you're confusing various threads, but feel free to enlighten me.
Then follows the removal of the post you refer to. This removal fit that 'irrelevance' bill I mentioned above to a T, and was explained as such to the affected user. Contrary to your impression, that post was not misinterpreted as it had nothing to do with a 'clarification as to which language version of the software upgrade the poster got before he offered advice'. The user then throws a hissy fit based on a misconception about the function of these forums and his (otherwise much appreciated) contributions to them. This misconception was IMHO adequately addressed by a moderator and other users in the relevant thread.
All that said, I think I can safely say that introducing your frustration or displeasure about what you perceive as a whimsical and arbitrary action by a moderator in one thread into a completely unrelated thread is not what I would call an effective way to bring your issue to our attention. But even if it were, you may not have realized at the time that using the word Gestapo in this context was really in bad taste. I suspect that for most people that took offense, myself and DK included, your intention to say something else doesn't make much if any difference. I 'm afraid you really stepped in it, and the smell lingers regardless of you saying that you don't know why.
Your original comment is clear to anyone reading it, and your view that you didn't compare anybody with anything doesn't make it any less so. For all the emotional connotation of that word to those who experienced the organization it refers to, and their families, using it is not unlike shooting somebody in the head simply to get another person's attention, just like a Gestapo officer might have done. That comparison may sound over the top, but it also gives you an idea of the effect of using a concept like Gestapo in an unrelated conversation.
I suggest there are less offensive ways to make your displeasure known. Such an approach has the added advantage that the issue doesn't get sidetracked by the unintended but inescapable consequences of the way you present it. I also note that your post here is the right place for it, and I'm glad you took that step. Moreover, you conclude your post by stating the same purpose for these forums as we strive to support, and I hope that my reply has made that clear and will help you better understand our point of view.
