I've now had a chance to read all the threads on the war and reflect on things, and I've cast my vote to ask people to cease & desist. (If there'd been an option for continuing the talk with certain restrictions, I might have chosen that.)
Most of my reasons have already been stated by me and others. One thing that was important in my decision was the opinions of "old" members (people who got here before me, soon after the original board started, including some 15 yr. olds
), because they helped establish the original philosophy of the forums, and have stated it many times when these questions have come up, and have been around long enough to know what happens when people deviate from it.
Most of us have seen cases where members have quit and/or been banned over this sort of thing, and it's not uncommon for forums to split right down the middle if it gets out of hand.
Just my 2 cents worth.
Doug
Comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.
--- William Sloan Coffin (and many others)