Mike,

Just exactly what are you suggesting is "going too far"? Offering an opinion, or feedback?

Let me ask you a question. How do you think you would feel if every time someone made reference to your comments they used the phrase "novice sailor Mike Catley . . ."? (And, let’s say that the label came without any knowledge of your sailing skills, but rather from the fact that you’d only written one letter to the editor of your local newspaper.) Or, how would you feel if a single person didn't care for your remarks and decided to rate you as a “one star” contributor? (And that star carries on next to your name long after the comment has been forgotten.)

I was suggesting was that the titles assigned by the forum software have no relevance to a contributor’s integrity as a person, or their sailing ability. I also disliked the feature that allows a single user (like yourself) to label another contributor with "one star" simply because a comment rubs them the wrong way. Yes, I do find that offensive, and I was simply stating my opinion as a suggestion for improving the forum (which BTW, I’ve found to be really terrific otherwise).

Cheers,