It's a matter of discretion. Salty language is one thing; trotting out vulgar nicknames of old bandleaders is another. Telling sea stories is a cherished tradition; publicizing long-ago events that should remain private is a tasteless offense.
While Navy Lyres is independent from the Navy Musicians Association, I consider this site a goodwill gesture toward and recruiting tool for that organization I love. At this year's reunion I met three new members who told me they found out about the NMA through Navy Lyres. What do you suppose the chances of their joining would have been if they'd visited this site and read nasty comments about themselves or their shipmates?
If you seek a community of like-minded character assassins with whom to share your resentments and disdain for authority you'll have to find another forum. Barrooms, transient barracks and Tea Parties come to mind.
Simply put, freedom of speech does not exist at Navy Lyres. That first amendment freedom, in whose defense we have served, prohibits congress from passing laws that limit expression. Nowhere does it say that Frank Mullen cannot prevent readers of Navy Lyres from listing the character defects of their old chiefs.
Someone has to decide what is or isn't appropriate at Navy Lyres, and I'm the Decider.
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