Ric I strongly disagree with what you are doing here. I thought we put an end to all of this. You are giving Tim everything he wants in exchange for NOTHING. Are you really that afraid of Tim?? I believe I will quit Tighar and stop contributing. Not fun anymore.
That's up to you Charlie, but if you think I'm afraid of Tim Mellon you haven't been paying attention. I'm not here to have fun and I'm not here to compromise on my principles or TIGHAR's good name. I'm hoping that reasonable discussion of the issues might lead to a resolution of the dispute. War is easy. Diplomacy is tougher but far nobler.
You have to be afraid of him to give him everything he wants in exchange for nothing. You made him an offer, he did not accept it, you gave him what he wants anyway. That cannot be seen as anything but a huge victory for Tim and a stunning defeat for you (and for Tighar). That's not how "diplomacy" is supposed to work.
Here we are again, talking about shapes seen in coral - and it is all just coral - with Tim badmouthing nearly every comment anybody makes, disrespecting our super-qualified photo expert and equating his own skills with Jeff's - some of the the very same things that caused you to shut the threads down before.
What has changed? Only the lawsuit has changed. So now instead of fighting the aggressor you are accommodating him. As soon as Tim sued us, he should not have been allowed to post AT ALL. I figured you were just fishing for angles to use against him at trial, but it is clear you were just intimidated by him and did not want to upset him further. And now you have given him free reign, contrary to what you stated before, and have once again turned Tighar into the laughing stock of scientific research forums.
I don't contribute a whole lot - a hundred bucks here and there, membership fees at the Researcher level, and exorbitantly priced items from the Tighar store. But I had planned on contributing thousands over the next year. I no longer feel I can do that. It hasn't been much but it ends NOW.