Regarding our Rule on Insults (Please read post before voting)

[Godhead]

The trouble with allowing people to insult each other is that it can create a bad atmosphere, which even if it doesn't result in an instant flame war (which is most likely) it can fester and result in out of the blue conflicts further down the line. And the trouble with allowing people to insult each other's points of view is that many people feel personally insulted and so the outcome can often be the same. This is why we're generally tactful in person. On the other hand if you feel a certain way you should have some way of expressing it. The trick is to find a balance. Also, when one person insults another, surely they're aware that the other person will most likely respond likewise, at least in most cases. So whenever someone insults another, it's usually in the full knowledge, therefore almost certainly in the hope, that the other person will reciprocate. If they do, you get a flame war. If they don't, it frustrates the person and makes them try harder and then others join in. The best thing to do is if you don't have anything positive to say, and by that I mean positive in terms of the overall discussion, then just say nothing.