It has not, and I didn't claim it has. My response was towards the concept of "what's wrong with repeating ad nauseam the same stuff that has been discussed a million times and explained by people much better than it can be done here and everything is available if one would just bother to search/read".
Of course you can have such a forum, but, to turn your question around, since when has Clubsnap become a forum exclusive to clueless newbies? Just as newbies will complain about the elitism of more knowledgeable fellows, you can expect that people at a level where they are looking for discussions with some more depth will get frustrated rather quickly. Chances are, they won't bother answering newbie questions anymore, which in the end is the loss of the less experienced.
A big hodgepodge of all levels in one place doesn't work, unless everyone makes an attempt to meet somewhere in the middle. That may mean dumbing down posts to make them palatable to newbies, but for newbies it also means putting in the effort on doing their homework and post well-researched questions.
as with all newbies there will always be some clueless wans around, but as a catch-all forum with a wide audience isn't Clubsnap such a place? this is not a school where the Admins or Mods dictate a certain level of photographic competence, & of those at the top of the field should they lower their standards? is the middle ground ideal or a more diverse wan with a wide ranging levels that caters to more levels of photographic interests & competence?
i do agree there are newbies who should at least do a search on any specific topic before flooding a forum with similiar or identical post. who do u think has the powers & authority to keep an eye on the forums?
i am oni a senior member, i cant be going arounding minding others on codes of conducts can i? certainly not the person who decides on the tone Clubsnap takes.