"It's still true that the very best way to deal with flames and abuse is to ignore them, to act as if offensive posts were invisible. That 'discipline of silence' doesn't seem to happen around here as often as it should."
That's precisely what I do and when someone irrationally flames me, I tend to disregard any other post that they may have. I skip right over it as if they weren't there. Eventually I begin to find out who the reasonable people are and respond to them. This includes almost everybody on Mudcat.
I am grateful for these threads and the discussion by intelligent Mudcatters. There seems to be really not too many flames or craziness by most Mudcatters; that's why I like to stay on board.