Joe. I don't know if I qualify as a Mod or not. However, i will try to address your concerns. First off, welcome.
Since you have some interest in Michael Seal, lets discus him for a moment. Michael had been with our group from the beginning days. He always had something to say, and sometimes it was constructive, while other times it was not. But he was always a welcome member of this group, whether or not he agreed with the "status quo".
We had a new member join who claimed to be a translator for an agency. What this person had to say was a farce. Most of us recognized it for what it was. However, Michael took it to the next level, and suggested he would stop in to pay this person a visit at their work place.
Before a member is banned, the mods must have a vote to decide if this is the best course of action. Any one mod can not permanently ban someone because they are not part of the "clique". Given the severity of the situation, a vote was taken. I can tell you that not all mods voted to ban him. However, a majority voted to have him removed from our group. This is why he was banned.
Michael has useful information, I will agree. But he is not the end all and be all of knowledge when it comes to China. Many members here have a lot more personal experience than he did. Take for example, David 5o, Willy The Londoner, ttwjr32, Maxx, and others. I am not saying Michael did not know what he was talking about...he certainly knows a thing or two as well.
You are welcome in this forum. All people are welcome, provided they follow the rules of the forum. I do not feel the mods have formed any sort of clique. Some of us are friends, and have known each other for over a year. We have shared personal information with each other, and have gotten close with each other. I do not think that this makes us an exclusive clique. In fact, I would like you to point out why you think this of the mods specifically.
Many friendships have been forged on this site. Many people have provided information on this site. We don't always agree with one another, but this does not mean someone will get banned. Only a few people have actually banned from this site for not following the rules of the forum.
I would suggest that before you come onto a free site and insult the people that are trying to keep it operating smoothly, you should do some more research, and not just use Michael Seal as your source of research, and consider all of his writings to all be factual.