I don"t think anyone wants to "exclude players for the wrong reasons" Des. Everyone who has expressed an opinion on this has put a good reason for their point of view.
For the long-term growth and development of APAT, it makes perfect sense to allow all to enter. That can only be good for the future. Many are looking at it from the point of view that it"s not about the future of APAT (as we"ve started Season 2 now), but about the appropriate way to end Season 1.
I can see both points of view. Without the Season 1 players, Season 2 wouldn"t be what it is. Without APAT and the work of Des, Rich and others, then Season 1 wouldn"t have happened.
It"s unfortunate that there were obstacles that prevented this event from happening earlier. I know Des has worked hard to get round them. If it had fallen under the auspices of PokerStars then we wouldn"t be discussing this now. However, for Season 2 to be what it is (and what it"s going to be) - BlueSQ (and the Rank group) were needed. Their interests need to be catered for as well.
No solution is ideal for all.