I have to confess I never read the rules, and haven't yet read them completely.

I believe the problem is not to find a wording for the rules which is clear and cannot be misunderstood in any way, not even by non native speakers like me.

We participate in this forum not because we want to follow some rules, but because we want to exchange knowledge and opinions about the Napoleonic period. And also not because we want to insult others or because we want to be banned.

Depending on the personal character, a posting by others may entice to make a pun, a joke, or an ironical, sarcastic or even an intentionally provocative remark. Sometimes I have to restrain myself, but I feel in the meantime that it is futile to try to change the research attitude of others, even by kinder means.

In the eyes of the public (or at least mine), a tactless remark or insult damages more the standing of the insultor than that of the one insulted.

And personally, I find meaningless messages such as "Well done" and the like, much more annoying than those which could be interpreted as an insult.

Well, to come to my point: if I were the moderator, I would try to find a simple rule which doesnt cause much work and also wouldn't exclude members who make a lot of useful contributions, for the few messages when they couldn't control themselves.

So why not just leave every message as it is, and delete insulting ones only on the request of the one feeling insulted ? After all, the same remark could be a serious insult for one, and a baseless bêtise for another one.

Just my two pence, I am grateful for the existence of fora like this, and wouldn't make any demands on those running them.

Oli