I did link to it. I do think that we're becoming over-moderated. I do deplore the dishonest way in which this is being done. I may not agree with something (Northern Monkey's childish slights of other men's wives or Danny's Zionism, for example) but I'll defend their right to express their opinion.
I recognise that this is extremely shaky ground to fight the battle on, since the thread was indefensible. I was amazed that it sat there getting bigger and bigger.
I have not posted on the aforementioned thread. I read only the first post, and then, when I linked, the last page.
I found what I read shockingly and horribly insensitive, callous and tasteless (civvy sensibilities) especially since it obviously referred to specific named officers wives. But I can see only two justifiable reasons to lock a thread.
One is military sensitivity (obviously) - though one needs to be careful not to lock threads which merely repeat what is already in the public domain, and the other is gratuitously offensive personal abuse, which goes beyond banter. I think that if this thread falls into the latter thread, then it should be killed, and not just surreptitiously modified in the way referred to.
Linking to it does nothing to stop it dying, but does allow anyone to go and look at it, see what we're discussing (I'm not arguing with you or BEagle from what I saw) and make up their own minds.
Moreover, the addition of a rolleyes gif might have alerted you to my feelings on the 'merits' of what I linked to.
And while I am an ugly old journo myself, I thought the said ladies looked and seemed intelligent, articulate, vivacious, and generally quite attractive. And when in tears or extreme emotion, it's not easy to look anything like that good, I'd have thought. In more normal circs I suspect I'd think they were gorgeous.