DanoT is Canadian, so I don't know if his post was a deliberate allusion to the famous Dennis Green rant, but like Phil, that's what I thought about immediately when I read it.
When the split and launch of Pugski happened in fall 2015, I can't say that I was thrilled. I spend way too much time on ski forums, and in the online world there's network synergy with size, so I view fragmentation as a negative. I registered here in Dec. 2015, but in my bailiwick of the ski world (resorts, conditions and travel), Epic remained far more active than Pugski and thus I spent far more time there.
I found it interesting how
little rivalry there seemed to be between the sites. Gatherings were cross promoted and reported upon and many people were active in both forums.
With April 25 announcement naturally the recrimination there and some gloating here came out by those who strongly preferred one forum or the other. I had never read the 20+ page Epic thread when Phil and Trish were let go there, but when I read it two weeks ago I was certainly impressed by the outpouring of support they received. They were practically drafted to launch this site.
Phil and Trisch IMHO have been doing a great job keeping things on a relatively tight leash with the 'who to be careful with' side of things. I don't think it's nearly as big an issue here. Speaking only for myself and IMHO, on Epic it was, and the problematic lack of judicious moderation there won't be missed.
I am a firm believer in "Ski Talk at a Higher Level." The First Tracks Forum prided itself on having the highest "Signal to Noise Ratio" during its heyday in the 2000's. That's why most of my activity was there, and my TR's still are. FTO had a very light level of moderation. It was mostly self-policed by active members, but much more civilly than on TGR. I no longer hold up FTO as a forum model because its active user base has dwindled over the last 3-4 years. The lead administrator(s) do have to nurture a forum site, and there 's no question that's an area where Phil and Trish put in a lot of effort.