Well Rokky... you might get a biased answer to that question from those of us who got the BITOG boot. Anyway, I will try to keep this answer as unbiased as I can. I also don't know the details of what the moderators were thinking in any case, even my own... so who knows the real reasons for what has been going on.
Suffice is to say that the moderators who were active at the time had a big crackdown in November and December. The crackdown included deletion of individual posts, deletion of entire threads, and banning members. They weren't lax about any small infraction (real or perceived) against the board rules (religion, ***, politics, personal attacks). They were also intolerant of any negative comments about site sponsors' products or mention of competitors to those sponsors. Any questions about the moderator actions, discussion about banned members, or questions about BITOG policies were also not tolerated.
Around the same time, the board was closed off to non-members. This month, open access was again allowed. I don't know if the moderators have lightened up on the crackdown, though.
After witnessing the crackdown firsthand, I still believe that BITOG is an EXCELLENT resource for those interested in automotive maintenance. However, I would add that site visitors should maintain a little bit of suspicion... especially in topics/posts lauding site sponsor products or in any topic where member posts lean overwhelmingly toward one opinion with no dissent. In those cases, it is possible that contrarian opinions have been deliberately blocked.