Recently closed threads give food for thought,
especially the below-the-line ones.

When posts from members display verbal aggression, contention, and combativeness,
is it a family feud
or a territorial power play?

Why is it so important to have the last word
that one member's shrewd suggestion,
about ignoring posts of a certain sort,
goes unremarked and disregarded?

Is the Mudcat the place
to demonstrate where one is in the metaphorical food chain?

Speaking for me,
many of my posts have been called out
for bad manners or trolling or whatever name;
and slow and stubborn as I am,
I have not lost my temper over it --
it is more productive, if more challenging,
to reflect on my behavior [Yankee spelling]
and to make an attempt, however grudging,
to stop giving offense.