Ron,
Forgive me if I disagree with your assessment of the situation at ThePenShop. Some of the actions are a bit overblown perhaps, but not as overblown as comparing those actions to a lynch mob.
As far as the actions of the administrator, there will always be times when some disagree with actions of a forum administrator. A very casual review of postings in both forums you mention will bear this out.
The person in question has been given an opportunity to explain the actions, and the response has been a mixed bag of excuses. In my opinion, this is why the outcry has continued.
By allowing members to vent, the point is made that actions such as these will not be tolerated. If the member was simply erased from the rolls, and all posts deleted, the insult to the original artist would not be known by many members.
The below is a quote from Golding's "Lord of the Flies." Somehow, it does not paint a picture of the members of ThePenShop to me.
Golding explains, "Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy." In this way, though the boys are rescued, the novel has anything but a happy ending. Indeed Golding’s dark vision of man has come true: all men are inherently evil.
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