There are obviously, more than one side to every story. With the amount of anonymity associated with a forum, I highly doubt that many people here have "All Sides" of the story. OP; you said in your opening post: "It has come to my attention that if someone says something unpopular here, their posts are banned or their accounts are banned." Sorry if I'm "Not Buying" your claim. You're new to the forum, but for some reason, you're so respected that people have brought such things to your attention. Of course, you "Could" be one of these people that Pima mentioned, who "Re-Registers" on the forum multiple times. Either to present differing positions that contradict previous opinions; or because you yourself were banned previously.
Now; I admit, I have posted on one or two threads here on this forum over a few years. In that amount of time, I can honestly say that I have seen some very "Heated" discussions with a lot of disagreement and some unpopular opinions. I admit; I've been involved in my fair share of some heated discussions here. I'm sorry to disagree with you Throwaway4124, but you're wrong. And no, this isn't a matter of us simply disagreeing with each other; you're actually wrong.
The ONLY time I've seen posts deleted, and the poster temporarily or permanently banned, is when that poster totally "Disrespects" the other posters. Applicants and others interested in the academies can find all of the "Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" about the academies here. There are discussions about every topic imaginable. Including problems with and concerns for racism, sexism, drugs, alcohol, academics, athletics, favoritism, bullying, hazing, religion, and anything else you can think of. And these topics, many times, can be quite controversial. And there is absolutely NOTHING WRONG with disagreeing with each other about any topic. Keep communicating, and Keep learning.
They key however, is "RESPECT". Sorry; but I'm old school. What that means is; I don't believe that respect and your feelings mean the same thing. I believe in debate, active discussions, arguing a case, and trying to persuade your position of a topic. If a person's "Feelings" get hurt, then maybe they aren't strong enough of an individual to be at the academy. in the military, or having a debate or discussion. There's parents who come to the forum who are interested in the academies for their kids. Sometimes they get into discussions and debates and their feelings get hurt. The point is, every day in our lives, someone, somewhere, probably says something that bothers us, offends us, hurts our feelings, embarrasses us, etc. That doesn't mean the individual is being disrespectful. Understand the difference. Unfortunately, some of those offended or have their feelings hurt, react disrespectfully in return. I.e. We've all seen the discussions where two people are disagreeing about something, and the one person gets frustrated, and instead of replying with a retort that is germane to the topic, they get PERSONAL. E.g. Well, you're an idiot.... You don't know jack ****....... etc.
The point is Throwaway4124; you have no idea about all the posts that may have been deleted; and/or any poster that may have been banned; or the "Full Story" behind it. Neither does just about anyone else on this forum. Sorry, but I'm not buying when you say that these things "have been brought to your attention". Sorry, but why would anyone bring such a topic to a brand new poster to this forum. Of course, you could be getting anecdotal feedback from an isolated individual who got one of their posts deleted; or they got banned. It's also possible that you're not brand new to the forum and you've re-registered. In which case, we have to know your full story. Again; forums and such are anonymous. We only THINK we know who all these other people are. PERSONALLY: I know about 30-35 people on this forum. Of the thousands I've spoken with here, I've only MET a fraction of these people. And very few that I'd recognize on the street. (Unless we were at Thudgate with some Jeremiah Weed). So take a lot of the posts you read with a grain of salt. The more people that validate the posts, the more salt you can give it.
There are a number of forums, facebook pages, websites, twitter, etc. for individuals interested in attending the military academies and ROTC. There is no doubt, that this forum "Service Academy Forums" is the most popular and most successful of all other resources. Percentage wise, more individual who have received appointments to the academies, have spent time on this forum than at any other site. Just look through the "Accepted" threads. You'll see a very high percentage of posters here receive appointments. That's because the information given here is very accurate; for the most part. And the TRUTH (Meaning the BAD as well as the good) is also given here. No one is hiding anything. You are free to search my user name on this forum. You will see me many times telling interested people "How it really is". Even as an ALO, I told applicants BOTH SIDES of the academy. And having spent more than 20 years in the Air Force, I definitely feel I can attest to a lot of the good AND the bad.
Of course, if a person doesn't like the tone or attitude here, there are quite free to move on to one of the other sites. Have a great day.