What I don't get in this whole discussion is why people are really so afraid to write up problems with the aircraft. It almost seems as if a defect that's been put on paper is an immediate cause for indefinite grounding of the aircraft, without exception. And that's definitely not the case, as far as I'm concerned.
I find it perfectly normal that an aircraft that's 20+ years old will have "issues", and I fully understand that not all issues are an immediate threat to flight safety. So if an aircraft has, say, five defects written up, I take a look at those defects and decide for myself whether it's safe to fly, taking in consideration the law, the POH and the mission.
At my club we operate an electronic defect report system (actually approved by the IVW) where any pilot can report defects, any other pilot can record comments (like a validation of a defect, or a simple "didn't happen to me"), the desk can ground the aircraft or limit its mission capability (VFR only for instance) and the maintenance people can close defect reports. And this works quite well. Even for very minor defects.
Last Friday I noticed that one of the planes canopy lock didn't work - the key would get in but it could not turn. Meaning that we cannot lock this aircraft for the night; anybody can get in overnight if they have access to the aircraft. Not a problem at our (secured) airport, but it is a problem in a weeks time when the aircraft will be parked for a weekend at a less secure airport.
I consulted with the desk and the engineers, and both asked me simply to file a defect in the defect report database. That way they would not forget to put some penetrating oil in it at the next opportunity, and check it again a few days later. Obviously I made it clear in the defect report that the canopy latch would work as designed and it's just the key lock that didn't work. Flight safety is not compromised at all so there are no limitations placed on the aircraft. But the maintenance guys know they have to take a look somewhere in the next few days.
Now to be honest: How many maintenance outfits will actually try and lock the canopy with the key, to see if the mechanism works, during a 50/100/annual check? I would assume that they've got more important things to check, so this is something that only pilots will notice in the actual usage of the aircraft. And you need to have a way of communicating this back to the maintenance people. That's what a defect reporting system is for, too. Not just for stuff that would normally ground an aircraft.