Brett Roberts
EF5
What I've never been able to understand -- and this applies at lots of other forums I've visited, not just here -- is what compels people to report posts and complain about heated arguments in which they're not even involved. For example, in the thread yesterday, I can totally understand the select few guys who were involved in the name-calling getting peeved at one another and reporting the thread to the moderators -- who, in that case, should take care of the problem. But there were also some bystanders who felt the need to get on their high horses and either tell everyone else to "knock it off," report the thread to the moderators due to "incivility" which wasn't even affecting them, or both. That kind of behavior, I must admit, annoys me to no end.Lanny
This has nothing to do with 'towing the line'. It's about common decent manners.
You wouldn't speak to somebody face to face like that, so why do it in a forum?
Personally I agree that there should be a healthy range of contributors, contributions and posters in a forum. But there's no place for plain out and out rudeness. No matter how cheesed off you are.
Basically, I don't see the need to lock threads and hand out suspensions unless the parties actually involved in the "flame war" complain. In the case of yesterday's thread, some of those who were being called names may well have complained, in which case I understand the thread being locked and posts being pruned out. But as for everyone else, if they don't like the language or tone of the thread, they can click the back button on their browser, go look at a different thread that suits their tastes, and get over themselves.