In my FidoNet EchoStar days, we tried a flame-war channel. It didn't do a damned thing to relieve the flames. If anything, the flamewar spilled over into the regular channels. In fact, it actually increased the duration of the flamewars. That's why I thought yesterday's creation of a flamewar diary was stupid.
UseNet has very similar experience via alt.flamewar. It actually worsened the problem, IMHO. In the ICANN DNSO, we had a serious problem with WIlliam X. Walsh and Joop Teernstra, it spilled over to the ICANN DNSO/GA and every other forum that those two were on. We didn't have moderators, nor could we ban users (although, in the end, that was tried too). Although it started in the IDNO, it didn't stay there. These things never do.
The ONLY thing that works is the firm commitment, and rules, to park the flamethowers at the door, period. If you start reaching for the flame-guns then maybe its time to watch a DVD for a while. I know, I've been guilty of this myself, in the past. Trust me, there are other ways without getting nasty (and yes, my flamethrower still works, as cnuggie found out).
Over time, I've learned to trust the mods here. I no longer feel the need to go hareing off on my own vengence. There was only one time where I felt that a mistake was made and that was corrected with an email.
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