Hi everyone,

Firstly, Richard don't go, I know I don't make alot of posts as I think that you and everyone out there has already said so much that reflects my thoughts, but you have a right to come here and post exactly what you think, as everyone does. This home from home has ment so much to me over the few months that I have been visiting it that I can not express my thanks enough to each and every one of you for the words and thoughts that have provided me with such strength to just get through what I am going through at the moment. Please don't go.

I know that the moderators have such a hard job, but there is also the fact that nearly everyone who visits here is going through exactly the same thing. If we have to be careful what we say or more to the point here, how we say it, then I think that this forum would be a worse off place. It would reduce the forum to a censorship battle. Who is to say what is wrong and what is right? Extream brutality is used and shown by some of the best and most respected charities in the world to show what people are going through. If we censored them as we do everything else there would be no charities at all. We just wouldn't know what goes on.

What we are all going through is hard for each and everyone of us, its hard enough trying to find things to smile about without being worried about a joke, which is what this whole thing is about, not being taken as a joke.

Loz, sorry mate but if a young child ever tried to understand some of the things that are posted on this forum then I doubt he would even know what he was looking at.

I hope that here we have a forum that does not dictate what is said and how it is said, that can only be described as totalitarian approach by the people who censor what we write, surely Loz you would agree with that. As an example of how far this sort of thing can go I read in the paper the other day that the Police in England have now been told that the use of the words 'nitty gritty' must stop as this maybe found offensive. (an example of the use is 'lets get down to the nitty gritty', just in case this is only used in UK. Pretty apt here). The reason that was given was that 'nitty gritty' was a term used to describe the soil and sediment that was left at the bottom of slave ships. They thought that they may offend if they ever used it. The problem is that there is a kids show on TV called the Nitty and Gritty show.

I think the question here is how far are we willing to go to stop the possability of offending people. Lets just get on with what everyone does best here, and that is immense support, help, guidence and alot of people who have a common problem seeking a common goal. For this to happen we need people like Richard and also people like Loz, who work so hard to try to please eveyone, but as we all know that can never be done.

Please don't go Richard and Loz thanks for what you have done, but please just think about how far this can go.

Sorry to go on, but I must go now as I have to leave my home and go into hospital so I probably will never see what you guys have replied. Please take care and look after each other in the end we are probably the only people who will ever fully understand.

Thankyou all for your help.

Dave