To make an observation, I think there seems to be some confussion on exactly what the word "bullying" means
.
I always held the deffinition of bullying to be that the bigger individual/group dominates the smaller through the advantage given by it's strength/size.
So the only bullying I can honestly say I see is when several of a group who agree tells the one person who does not agree to get the hell of the forum.
I see one person expressiong their opinion (I might not agree with that opinion, but it is what it is) and I see a group of people getting hot under the collar and instead of rationally pointing out reasons why they believe the person is wrong (if you really need to do that, I sometimes think it's best for the minority to be allowed to have their say and let that be an end to it) I see insults, personal attacks, and even (unbelievably) vicious comments that the user should leave the forum.
Oh, plus comments from the bullies saying "hey mods, can you see what's going on here?"
As far as i'm aware the only people who retain the right to prevent somebody from visiting and posting on this forum is the staff (and usually for bullying).
As Andy said, not everyone on this forum speaks English as a 1st language, so a little lean way when it comes to interpritation might be in order.
Especially when the user in question is one of the oldest registered members of this forum.
Hell, he was here before me, and I was here before Meat
So a bit of patience all round please.
If you really really need to defend Meat against something that's been said on the forum, use logic and facts to prove your case, not personal attacks.
As for the bullying, i'm enclined to agree that we the staff should be taking a firmer line on the kind of bullying we've been seeing lately.