Hear, hear, Jack! I love the idea of "WHINE" as a prefix – brilliant!! (*G* Maybe we should have a "FLAME" prefix just for the flamers!)

I agree that "OBIT" threads are the place for information about the deceased and comments relative to the deceased (how the person's life or work affected you or someone you know), as well as expressions of grief or sorrow at the person's passing. I agree that they are NOT the place for criticisms of the posted obit, nor of its poster, nor of others whose posts contain information and/or comments about the deceased. A comment such as "I think you're all a bunch of tacky gossips" is in itself tacky and gossipy, and has no more place in an "OBIT" thread than it would have in an obituary published in a newspaper.

But when such tacky comments do appear, as they inevitably will, how do you all suggest we react? Should we hush them as we would someone at a memorial service who tries to pick a fight with another attendee? Should we leap to the defense of the picked-upon poster and risk turning the thread into a melee? Should we take the standard ignore-the-flamer approach? Should we ask a joe-clone to remove comments that someone deems to be out of place in an "OBIT" thread?