Dear Captain Hook,
Thank you for your eloquent post, which I think, stirs up the waters rather than calm it. If, according to you, I appear to be ungracious, it's because I aim to be transparent in my thoughts and intentions. Of course, in an e-community such as this, everyone uses a nick and is to some extent, anonymous. But I'd like to think that a nick is a matter of formality, a simulacrum that is nevertheless a measure of the personality of the author. As someone who joined the thread and saw its evolution from singaporebrides to singaporemotherhood (certainly no small accomplishment - kudos to Chin Leng and all parents here), I took it for granted that other people know who I am from my previous posts. Thus, even if Helena is a nick, it is nevertheless a nick with continuity, a consistent and reliable measure of who I am.
So when I post something, I use the same nick. I wonder, Captain Hook, if you are a long-time participant in this community rather than a guest, because such an involved post would certainly imply that you have followed the threads closely. It is obvious that you care about the community and are interested in creating a congenial environment. In which case, "Captain Hook" is a pseudonym hiding behind a pseudonym, a persona conjured as to give the impression of an objective commentary and to criticize one of its participants even more anonymously. To continue the naval metaphor, it is to join the sea battle with no stakes. I wonder if the pseudonym is a Freudian slip - apart from the phallic innuendo, a masculine nick which dips itself anonymous into a largely female community, it is a hook, as it were, to bait further controversy after the tempest has subsided.
If I had requested the thread to be deleted, it is to bring closure to the whole thing. My ship is wrecked, and yes, I am annoyed, but enough is enough and I don't want to pursue the matter further - no point creating more unhappiness over what is at the end of it all a small issue. I do know that Mrs. Shim and Ruffy did not do what they did on purpose, and I am especially touched by Mrs. Shim's sincerity in trying to undo the situation.
Of course, there is no such thing as a utopia, but I see this place as a utopia of sorts, where like-minded mothers gather and exchange our concerns and joy on parenting. If according to you I am ungracious, it's because I do not see this community as being founded on laissez faire principles, and am disappointed that you regard it to be so. Words like "undercutting", "competitors", "4 P's" and "intellectual property" do not belong here. I am disappointed that some of us, however anonymous, think otherwise.
OK, enough. Let's move on.