The problem seems to me to be that some people are completely over-invested in the discussion. They post aggressively as if their very lives depended on it. The vicious passion is quite astonishing at times.It's a forum not a war.

Also, the lack of common manners and consideration is breathtaking. I can't imagine people behaving like that in a real-life setting. It would probably come to blows, brawling and the arrival of the Police!

I think the moderators are right to close threads in which certain posters are becoming nasty, although it's a disappointment for those who started the discussion, often an interesting topic which could have developed into a very satisfying debate.

Imagine someone visiting Mudcat for the first time. They might be considering joining and being a regular contributor. But having read some of the appalling, angry and insulting threads, they'd recoil in disgust and go elsewhere. I'm sure no-one here would be happy about that; 'new faces' are very important.