I'm not sure what happened, although I was watching the posts on motorcycle safety when I noticed his status had changed to "guest". A recent inspection of the members list indicates that he has re-registered, but has made no posts.
Here's what I do know. Two of the times I'm aware of when Franklin got into, well, for lack of a better word, "trouble", were during threads concerning safety. It's a hot-button issue for all of us.
It's also clear by reading through past posts that, stylistically, Franklin had what many probably think is an off-putting habit of making a single statement, followed by text, or a link. Rather than promoting his argument or proposal in his own words, he would just drop an article on our desktops and see where it went. I consider it akin to dropping a few flakes of food in the aquarium and see which fishes came to the surface to nibble.
Also, Franklin is a fan of rocket and jet propelled vehicles, which puts him in a camp that, to some, is an eccentric side-show to the larger, better represented, wheel-driven, grass roots faction in LSR.
Personally, as a volunteer moderator, and the one who locked up the Funny Car Safety link after it turned into an off topic shouting match, I am a bit taken aback by the amount of time I've had to keep an eye on Ratliff's posts and the comments they have prompted. Sure, we're a competitive lot - we race or build racecars and bikes, or have an acute interest in them. None of us like to lose, especially an argument. But does ripping on an eccentric do anything to make any of us better? Conversely, does being unaware of how one is perceived, or perhaps, uncaring as to how one is perceived, give one the right to stand in self righteous indignation when one's views are questioned?
I've read some of Ratliff's posts and rolled my eyes, thinking, "Here we go again". But I've also read some where I said, "That's an interesting angle", and it's sent me off to discover something new. Additionally, I've seen Ratliff's "Ignore" numbers fluctuate up and down, which leads me to believe that even those who like him the least occasionally went back and checked out his posts.
Sticking to topic can solve most of this. That would include not questioning someone's motives, intentions or intelligence. The topic is what the thread is about - the topic is not about who posted it.
One other thing - while privately owned, this is a publicly viewed forum. Do we really want to take our trash to town?
These are my personal views.
Chris