I think whats gone wrong here is the inability for both sides to respect the other side's opinion without the need to add anything further. If nothing further was added to an initial response, there would be nothing to respond to. And if there was nothing to respond to it wouldn't have come to this.
I was actually in a situation earlier here (maybe some of you saw it/read it) where there was a request for an art critique. I did what I do well, the critique was well taken and appriciated, the artist gave a rebutal in defense of his work (perfectly understandable by the way), I gave a follow-up reply, and that was that.
Now, I'm sure that outside of him and I it may have looked like an argument, but that couldn't be farther from the truth in the contexts of the conversation itself. While I cannot say that I know this individual very well, I can say that I respect his passion and his dream. What I'm getting at with this is that we respected the other's opinion and feelings, and because of that, the situation resolved itself. He had nothing more to say, and I had made my point. There was (at least I feel) a mutual understanding in that, and we both respect eachother. That situation could have gotten out of control, but it didn't because cooler heads prevailed.
I don't see that happening in this thread. And I'm surprized by that because some of our best and brightest, our veteran patrons are getting into this squabble. They too have been swept up into this petiness that is no longer about (as sad as it is) a foot (and the quality of it). A foot of all things! (Yes I know this is a fetish forum, but when was this really about the foot? Know what I mean?) This is a shouting match to see which side gets tired first. This is why we have inactive posters posting, lurkers coming out of the shadows, and people with only several post counts adding their two cents.
Remember, this isn't about silencing someone else or their rights, or telling them what they can and cannot say. In fact, it has less and less to do with what you've said, and more and more to do about how you've said it.
I see sarcasm and smart-mouthed remarks intended to incite response AND people being too defensive and not letting go because they want to play hero for this thread (which they don't really care about it or it's contents any longer).
You've all lost. Sweep your dignity up off the floor and move on.
