Lawrence has been a long-time reader of Hypergrid Business, and has often emailed me with suggestions and ideas for improving the site. I've also known him to be even-handed, and not personally involved in any of the major political controversies surrounding OpenSim.
But, most of all, he really cares about civil discourse.
I am very happy about having him step forward to help with moderation and wish him all the best! And, to our readers -- please be kind! We're all here because we love virtual worlds and want to see them flourish. The fact that we have different ideas about how to accomplish this is a good thing -- the more avenues are being explored, the higher the likelihood that we'll find the sweet spot, the killer app, the approach that really makes this sector take off!