I am very happy to see that a real discussion has finally started...i do agree with William that it might be a good thing to do away with the top 20. But probably this is not possible, as the fractal top 20 is run by the central database engine of this site.

But anyhow, maybe I was a bit harsh in my first reaction, but I am a person with strong emotions, and sometimes they "boil over". So I apologize to the persons that I might have offended, this was not my intention. My only intention was to incent a real discussion about this topic.

I still think that Arend should be asked to explain his actions, and maybe the harassing IM's should be read by at least the moderators ( or maybe this has already happened?)
A case like this wins a lot by treating it as openly as possible!

I hope this matter will be solved in a constructive way, and can be used as an example in future cases. For as long as this kind of community site is based on highly competitive principles ( voting, rating etc) I am sure that problems like this will keep on producing themselves....

Yours in respect, Eveline