Howard wants him to keep it dead. Mutt can't give up his forum. Comon, that's a very hard pill to swallow, and I don't think he should.
Still, it's a moderation nightmare if he decides to go all in and moderate with a heavy hand. THAT is a full time job, and you can't keep banning people over and over as they change usernames and IP addresses. If someone wants to be a jerk, there's little you can do but ban their IP and hope they don't use a redirector.
Howard has earned a lot of the discontent, with the promises he's made and the eventual 9 to 12 shows a month, down an hour each day from last contract. It's a lot to get a subscription for 140 shows a year (or whatever), however, there are ways to show displeasure and ways to show distain. Attacking members and show people has got to stop, but it won't be easy.
I feel bad for Mutt. He has a lot of careful steps to make to keep at least most of the members and Howard happy.