What makes a 'good pub'?

The editors of the new edition of the Good Pub Guide have provoked controversy by suggesting that struggling pubs deserve to die. Of the 4,000 pubs expected to close in the next year, the introduction notes: "These are the pubs at the bottom of the pecking order, the Bad Pubs. It's high time they close their doors"

But do you agree with the editors' assesment of what makes a good pub, good and a bad pub, bad? Which criteria do you consider most important? Are they any others not mentioned here?