Agreed. Ignore them. But sometimes a thread is started up in a nasty way, but it's about something concerning which people want to exchange views; my suggestion was for a way of doing that which doesn't involve getting into the game of responding and reinforcing the stuff that is better ignored.

I agree that the person originating a thread doesn't control how it develops; the example Jerry gives shows how that can be a way of dealing creatively with this kind of thing, by drifting the thread in a more pleasant direction. But so long as a thread deals with the issues raised by the person starting it, its agenda is liable in some ways to be determined by that initial thread.

"If I wanted to get there, I wouldn't start from here" may not be the advice for a traveller on the road - but it can be a good advice when it comes to exploring differences of opinion.

Rocket science? That's relatively straightforward compared to human communication.