Hmmm!
This really is descending into something like a fight between a couple of the bad girls at school; you know, a lot of hair pulling and insult swapping.
The deletions issue is and always has been the biggest bone of contention on this site.
I said a long time ago that we shouldn't have sleepless nights over whether or not a photograph is somewhere between poor and total rubbish.
When we browse or search for photos, we are presented with a series of thumbnails of approx 200 x 200 pixels. If one of those thumbnails look awful, we skip over them and view the better quality ones.
How easy is that!
Having umpteen pages of rules and regulations on what you can and can not post, how the photograph must look or is composed etc is asking for trouble.
If poor quality photos are posted, they get ignored and fade into obscurity.
Alternatively, if other users post appropriate, non-insulting, comments on the photo, the poster will eventually get the idea.
Similarly, the issue of watermarks falls into this area. Why should I worry if someone wants his photo to carry his mark?
I imagine most posters have this thought in mind when they post a photo; "Here is my picture of .....I hope you like it". If we do like the image of a ship, we should feel free to say so, without sniping about watermarks etc.
Unfortunately, in the past when the issue of deletions has been raised, it has generally resulted in some (certainly not all) admins getting defensive and reacting as if it is a personal attack on the admins.
The result now seems to be that those who have raised this issue in the past are now known as a clique, generally referred to as "those who complain" etc. I think it is now becoming apparent that "those who complain" have become something more than a little clique.
I have been referred to by a previous admin as being part of the "Solent Mafia"! No offence taken, Bob. In fact I thought it funny.
In summary, on the deletions part anyway; drop the deletions thing entirely and allow the site to find its own level of quality. It might take a while to happen naturally but at least there would be less of this topic taking up bandwidth!
As for the site layout etc; be fair to the admins now. They did ask, many times, for ideas, thoughts on what to include etc and the beta version of the site was open to all to review and comment upon. If we didn't take that opportunity, we have nobody to blame but ourselves.
The time for complaining has gone. I am sure the admins would be open to ideas for improvements, submitted in a respectful manner but not when they come in strident demands.
Finally, re Ken. I don't think he looks like a brigadier at all. More like a Corporal!
Kelvin