I too am not satisfied with how things went, and were left, on that thread. We still have much work to do, though. It's good of you to take the initiative, and I appreciate it, being a bit swamped and pulled in other directions at the moment.

The comment about there being no setting on any forum software that reads "[x] Exempt Bowser's posts from moderation" (or whatever it was I wrote) was an attempt at humor. The attempted point was that what you're asking for is a rather unprecedented exception to the system, the system being composed of both a technical part and a human, or social, part. Implementing the exception in software is daunting--remember that I didn't write it--but I wasn't proposing doing that anyway. The real problem with your proposed solution is social: It singles Frank out for special treatment, in a way that casts aspersions on his ability to be a fair and impartial moderator.

If a moderator needed a special injunction like that, I'd likely consider that moderator unfit for duty on general principles. A moderator must be trustworthy across his/her entire domain of action; exceptions are cracks that weaken the edifice.

Let's take a step back and put this discussion into perspective. Frank is moderator of CurrentEvents, at both the current and new site. You fall under his jurisdiction only on CE, which is nevertheless an important board for you, and you'll want to continue spending a lot of time there. You worry that Frank will delete something you post, but to be honest, I don't understand where that fear comes from. Yes, moderators have that power; but the use of it is monitored and recorded, and people can be held accountable for abuse of that power. Historically all moderators have demonstrated a solid understanding of the gravity of deleting a post, and have done it sparingly and only in extremis.

So the situation we face is really not extraordinary at all, it's the way things have always been. If Frank is proven to have abused his power by deleting a post for less than the most serious of reasons, I will remove him.

That's been my promise for years, Bowser. That you nevertheless claim that you have reason to fear Frank is to also say that you don't trust me, and that's disappointing.

To summarize, I can't accept the potato in your shorts, but my counteroffer is to mainain the status quo: I guarantee Frank's good behavior, as I guarantee the good behavior of all moderators. You know where to find me, and you'll be able to yell at me if you have a beef with Frank.