Tom,
I'm someone who has regularly visited and cotributed to this board, have conspicuously avoided the poltics, but have thoroughly enjoyed the format and exchange of ideas. I don't know what it is like to moderate something like this, but I can only imagine there are some trials with all of us being so sure of our opinions.
Thanks for your efforts at keeping this thing organized and largely civil. I hope you'll continue to post here.
~kitesrtings