Underhand moderation in The Guardian tech section

I'm an occasional contributor to the BTL comment in the Guardian's Technology section. I'm not overly sympathetic to the brown-nosing of anything and everything Apple by their Technology Editor, but by and large my posts are at worst mildly ironic. I've noticed recently that I've apparently been blocked from recommending BTL comment on tech articles (but not anywhere else on the site). But I've not had a comment disappear into the ether until now! Dan Crow's "We've passed peak Apple: it's all downhill from here" caught my eye this morning and I added one of the first comments (the article had attracted no comment at the time). My comment posted fourth, and quickly drew a couple of recommends.

Revisiting Dan's blog a little while later I found that two of those early posts had been 'moderated'. Mine however had disappeared entirely!

OK so these are the moderated posts.  First:
youngadam: But Dan, you prefer Android phones - I sense any other opinions you have aren't going to treated with much respect if you can't see iOS as inherently superior.

and second:
PPetteflet: Ass-licking example:

"The story of Apple Incorporated is far from over. It is the most valuable company in the world, by a large margin. Apple produces a range of exceptional and much loved products. It employs many of the most talented designers and engineers on the planet."

 I stopped reading the rest, knowing about the working conditions in the Chinese factories.


My own comment was deemed so offensive it didn't even get the usual "This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn't abide by our community standards. Replies may also be deleted. For more detail see our FAQs." It just disappeared!

So here it is:

"The iPhone 5 is better, but it's really not that much better, and iOS 6 has had some decidedly mixed reviews. But you wouldn't know that listening to the hype from Bob Mansfield, Tim Cook, Phil Schiller et al."

I think we can include one Charles Arthur in the et al!

The Guardian's tech section is the source of a lot of black humour BTL as well as regular complaints from those who take such things a bit too seriously. But surely it's past time when Charles Arthur's lovefest with Cupertino's finest was given the order of the boot from King's Place once and for all.