I don't really post that much here, and haven't had the pleasure to interact with the mod team directly thus far, so I'm not sure how much my uninformed opinion counts for. This is also the reason why I've avoided all the meta threads. Oh well, here goes.

First off, if this sub is becoming similar to Ghazi, I certainly haven't felt it. Recently, I actually clicked on a link to a Ghazi thread without realizing it, and proceeded to read it with mounting horror and confusion until I noticed, and happily rejoined the world of the sane. AGG does not read like Ghazi at all, Hokes or no Hokes.

I get the feeling that, for a decent amount of people, or at least the more visible departures from the mod team, Hokes is more of a symbol of a more fundamental problem with how the mod team functions, rather than a truly malignant influence over how the sub is ran. If that's the case, it may be worthwhile to try to refocus the discussion around the real problem, rather than let the whole thing be dismissed as "pro-GG hate Hokes and want them gone".

As far as my own observations go, I will say that rules, and especially vague (by necessity) rules on a forum dedicated to debate, are respected proportionally to how fairly and impartially they are enforced. And if the rules aren't respected, people will find ways to be nasty and dismissive without breaking them, it's really not so difficult.

One thing I'd like to specifically say about Hokes, is that as far as I can tell (from the Carrera vs Kluwe thread), they actually don't think debate against pro-GG people has any real value. The fact that you have someone who thinks like this, moderating this sub, really makes the whole thing look like a sham, an idea you all pay lip service to without actually believing. And without that idea, there's no reason for this sub to exist, at all.