IMO, gruff in moderation (Tough Love!) is OK, but the TOS require intervention when it gets out of hand or into ad hominem. OTOH, we have some nice tools on FlyerTalk - the best is the ability to ignore a thread or post and move on - including the ability to set one's settings to ignore posters one doesn't want to be bothered with.
By the way, what's this "AA metal" everyone's referring to?