Perhaps because it is a car forum and not a political forum, they felt they shouldn't need to set tone and limits, or at least shouldn't have to spend much time doing so. Political and religious discussions and the like are the types of discussion that need that type of limit-setting. On that score, I can completely understand.

I've been a moderator on a couple of political forums, am a moderator on a free-for-all forum now, and it's really tough. No matter what moderation steps you take, you're still wrong in the eyes of the community, more often than not. It can be a real lose-lose sort of job.

And that's the last bit of moderation-back-seat-driving I'm going to do, out of respect for these guys.