Should we reinstate gymnastics compulsories?

Even though they were boring to watch compared to the optionals, I do actually miss them a little, because as you said it really allows us to compare everyone on a level basis. I disagree with you though that they were "easy". Although the skills were not nearly of the same difficulty level as in optional routines, compulsories required gymnasts to display total command and control of basic skills, and this really exposed the technical weaknesses of many gymnasts, especially those with poor form, which many gymnasts even at the Olympic level seem to have these days. Nowadays, great form is just not as highly valued as degree of difficulty, and I think there should be more of a balance of the two, which is why Nastia Liukin is my favorite gymnast and a well-deserving Olympic champion.