I spotted someone who I briefly suspected of being scottishmummy a while back, but in the end I don't think it was her.
I miss Xenia too though I do sometimes think she's still around.
TBH reading this thread I suspect people see what they want to see in MN. Personally I read MN to divert myself with a bit of gentle frothing, and as such tend to click on the threads where people are most likely to post opinions that I find idiotic. I suspect lots on here do similar, whether they realise it or not.
As such, whatever your political views, I think lots of MNers gravitate towards threads we disagree with, as it's just more entertaining than nodding sagely when someone has already said whatever I would say. Where's the fun in that?
So the multiculturalists, diversity hawks and liberal lefties all worry MN is being taken over by racists and Thatcherites, while those of a more conservative disposition roll their eyes and mutter about the country going to the dogs with the thought police taking over. And so it goes on. We're all filtering for what gets our blood boiling for a decent debate, and we're all seeing what we want to see.
What I do find concerning is what I perceive as a gentle trend within MN for strong clashes of opinion to be moderated out. I've always appreciated MN's robust culture of encouraging people to argue their own corner and assuming each poster's ability to do this, and think one person's perception of a post being 'goady' or 'rude' simply isn't an adequate reason to censure the poster. It implies that people need protection from having their emotions raised, which is a very modern idea and IMO not a very good one.