<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Rssrsvp:
As a sidebar, one of the largest challenges that the moderators have to face on a regular basis is the presence of trolls on the boards. They intentionally post with a mission to incite flame wars and offer nothing that can be construed as a positive contribution to FT. Unfortunately, they usually manage to stay on the correct side of the TOS, and we have our hands tied as a result.</font>
Let's be honest. While there have been "socks" who have popped up now and then making trollish posts, many of these so-called "trolls" are not new members, but rather long-time members who, due to post count or familiarity with moderators, seem to have a license to engage in this type of post activity when it suits them.
Also, others can be encouraged to "pile on".
That said, I haven't noticed that things are any worse or better than any other time, but it is indeed there.