1) Signal Orange Strips on Glass Gliders are common in competition and not a problem
True, but I think some of that comes from orange strips being mandatory for flying in the Alps, where white gliders don't stand out from white snow. An earlier poster reported on breaking up a silhouette not improving visibility in our conditions.
2) Mode C transponders mandatory in the Netherlands for Gliders operating away from the immediate vicinity of the airfield
Didn't the Netherlands make transponders mandatory everywhere, and then have to disregard most of the signals?
To be fair, I think Il Duce's original point was more to do with the perceived wisdom of gliding in those locations, combined with radio silence
Well, yes, but it was designed to set off a debate (see thread title). We can all find examples of people doing something silly! Nice to see a well mannered debate resulting.