Absolutely. And, I trust, you feel the same way about trolling? I feel that trolling is a far more rampant problem on FT, and am curious to read your thoughts on the matter, specifically in light of the following two threads:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum97/HTML/000744.html
and
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum97/HTML/000736.html
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by avek00:
Personal attacks on FlyerTalk are something that I know quite a bit about, both as the victim, and, in one regrettable instance, as an attacker.
Simply put, a personal attack is a critcism or insult made by one poster against another that does not involve the issue at hand. They are often used to distort or deflect attention from the discussion in the thread. In extreme cases, personal attacks can have the effect of paralyzing an entire forum, as we have witnessed in severl forums over the years.
Having been both a victim and on one occasion an attacker, I understand both the drive behind posting an attack, and the harm that it causes to the well-being of the community. As a member of TalkBoard, I would encourage the adoption of a sharply-curved progressive punishment system for personal attackers. While the first (and possibly second) attacks would warrant strong warnings, subsequent attacks would be swiftly met with lengthy suspensions and total bans.
Even if such a system is implemented, the best way to stifle personal attacks will be for members of the community to collectively stand against them, regardless of who is attacking or being attacked. To that end, I believe that members of TalkBoard need to be highly vocal in denouncing personal attacks whenever they occur.
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