I do understand it’s difficult for MN when threads go haywire and I have no wish to denigrate the good work the mods do, but wouldn’t it be better to deal with the individuals who are hellbent on flaming, abusing and (let’s be frank) bullying posters.
I am not talking about threads that might be titled something like ‘AIBU to think that parents should be exempt from taxes’ or something where you’d expect robust disagreement and a certain amount of yelling and shouting as people obviously feel passionate about politics and current affairs and that’s good. It’s more when someone needs support or advice and the thread turns nasty. Then the thread is deleted, and it is turning MN into a place where some people can’t ask for support as they get a load of abuse and the people doing it are free to carry on as the thread has gone kaput.
If posters are behaving in a way that’s downright bullish and unpleasant wouldn’t it be better to tell them to stop and it they don’t, take further action? As it is it feels uncomfortably like the kid on the playground who gets pushed around being told to go inside so he doesn’t get bullied.