The other board on which I frequently post :http://www.straightdope.com/ has been around since 1996 and has experienced much of the same issues that it seems FT is only now addressing, call them "growing pains" if you will.

Straightdope started out as a political newspaper and distributes nonpartisan informational books. They take a more passive/aggressive approach to flame wars. Instead of erasing incindiary posts and removing the user, they have allocated one board specifically for flame wars, referred to as The BBQ Pit.

From my understanding, if a user flames someone within the confines of a discussion board they will be removed. It is the responsibility of a user to direct flames toward the BBQ Pit.

From first glance, the BBQ Pit theme may reflect poorly upon FT. But it comes down to the denial of reality. It is an attempt to diffuse flame wars and channel them to an appropriate area. Everyone knows flame wars happen, though not everyone wants to read them, here is one solution.

Risque as it may be, The concept works very well at Straightdope, it may here as well.

Happy to help,