This is frustrating. I read
This is frustrating. I read again on SPOPEN today talk of banning people like McDonagh from the WSM forum. I dont think that is going to serve any useful purpose at all. Simon’s argument on SPOPEN is unconvincing. If you are going to have an open forum then you cannot complain if hostile posts appear. The real question is how you deal with them and whether there is a case for an open forum at all. I still think there is. Wicopendebate failed as an open forum because it is was unable to deal with disruptive posters effectively. So it succumbed to incremental decline. The WSM forum, being much bigger , has a much better chance of suceeding and indeed of turning what seems to be an inconvenience and a disadvantage into a distinct advantage
Here’s my advice to you guys which you can take or leave as you wish
1) Turn this forum – the SPGB forum – into something akin to the Worldincommon forum limited to members and sympathisers only. State this explicitly in your terms of reference like worldincommon has done
2) Maintain the WSM as an open forum. Allow nutjobs like McDonagh to post but only answer their posts obliquely in the way Ive described earlier so that in no way does it seem that the various outlandish claims they make have been allowed to go uncontested. The point would be to demonstrate convincingly that the socialist case trumps over the freemarketeers every time. The onus is not on them to present a more reasonable line of argument but on us to demonstrate how wholly unreasonable their argument actually is. That will earn the WSM kudos no end – rather than just running away form what is after all a batty argument
The WSM forum is not “drifting”. People need to get this idea out of their heads. It is taking on a distinct direction and purpose and the level of posting is actually quite good. Its the input of members themselves that can help ensure that the benefits accrue to the socialism movement itself. The opportunity is there – make use of it! It just strikes me as being silly and negative complaining about what is happening on the WSM when you are not exploiting the opportubnity to take on your political opponents (this from a party that says it will even debate against the fascist BNP). Try to imagine what the WSM would look like without any opposition. It would be dead as a dodo.
It is controversy – thinking outside of the box – and opposition that sparks interest – not dull conformiity. Look, it even works over on SPOPEN! . And talking of which I would be grateful if someone (Adam perhaps ? ) could post this on SPOPEN to stir things up over there even more 
Cheers
Robin