cowhide may not be tough enough but you dont really have to go. After all, if you have fun here, maybe it has something to do with the editing (which is the very reason why you want to go)
I kinda like it, it adds to the drama.
But forum admins should take responsibility for their actions. They don't have to debate them or put them up for votes or even engage in public discussion of particular details.
But silently nuking a message from a user who has over 7000 prior posts over almost nine years, all taken without such problems, is unhealthy for a forum.