My observations and SUGGESTION for whatever you deem them to be worth:
Summary: Dale is quite free with us in our difference of opinions when stated civily; the Confente thread is exceptional and should be handle accordingly....
The CR list, Dales forum, is usually very civil in tone & demeanor of those who contribute to the list.
Dale has, in my observations, typically allowed individuals to state, discuss, explain and try to justify their opinions without censurship or threat of being unsubscribed. When an individual has stated an opinion as fact, Dale has also permitted plenty of open discussion by those who disagreed with said "fact" - only when the tone becomes uncivil have I noticed any implication of censurship or request by Dale to tone it down or risk being expelled.
The Confente topic was a gross exception to the normal CR content in that it was, comparatively speaking, without end along with an obvious tone that was beyond simple and civil defference of opinion. My observation was that that emotion was getting the better of some contributors which was seriously detracting from the credibility of what was being presented. Once the percieved credibility of the contributions began to deteriorate, the thread unwound.
So how do we move on from here? Dale is apparently listening to all we have to say and I hope/expect will give serious thoughts to our comments and then provide direction to the list. It will eventually require his input if the list is to move in a direction that he wants - it is his list, we are in his family room.
Many agree that the Confente story is historically important. History is filled with all sorts of differing opinions and recollections of what had in fact happened. Why not think of this as a documentary with the "history of Mario Confente" being the quest. Why not handle this extraordinary thread by asking Jim, Brian, and anyone else with firsthand knowledge to submit (offline to someone like Dale?) their most detailed account of the full history, from beginning to end. Then have someone (Dale?) pull these accounts together, not picking and choosing what to include, but simply placing all submissions in chronological order of events, by paragraph, with the author identified at the end of said paragraph. This could then be submitted back to the contributors for further clarification and response, all of which could be added into the document to help make it flow better and to jog memories of accounts missed in their earlier contributions.
It seemed clear to me from the previous Confente posts that there will never be a concensus on all aspects of events. That's ok isn't it? Let's get the story down on paper - agreements & disagreements both. Mario and those of us interested in his life will get the benefit of those who were around him, we'll get to hear first hand where there is a difference of opinion and we can choose to judge or simply accept the differences.
Sure, this would be a large undertaking.
This is not your typical CR list question about what size sproket a Campy NR rear will handle and I respectfully suggest that it requires a different method of contributing and documenting than a list such as ours can accomodate.
Eric "I care" Elman