" 

 == about your comment on jimbo's page about ""f* off and die"" == 

 About this.  I am guessing you looked at the ANI post I linked to, and described as "" typically messy and ugly example from the archives"".  There are many, many things going on there.   Probably the most important one for ongoing discussion about taking ""bright line"" action on civility, is the reactions of the various editors.  If you take some time and actually and carefully read the initial post, and then stop and really take some time and go read the back and forth that led to the events described in the original posting.... you will be troubled.  Imagine yourself actually actively involved in that conversation in the midst of your own real life, and ask yourself what you would have done.  Now go back to the ANI and start reading comments.  It becomes very clear that very few commenters took the time to delve into what happened, think about it, and give a considered response.  You have some considered responses, but you have tons of knee-jerk responses where it is clear that people grabbed onto some piece of what happened - something important to them - and reacted to that, and, importantly, called for action based on what that grabbed and how they judged it.   Quite often people even forget about the initial posting all together and start reacting to each other (old feuds/alliances played out, new feuds/alliances being formed ... all kinds of meta-things going on).  Many things could have been handled differently and better - both in the initial dispute and in the community's discussion.  But WP unfolds in real time and anybody, wise or foolish, diligent or knee-jerky, is free to chime in.  It is the nature of this place.  Setting up high-level authorities and bright-lines - taking some kind of swift, seemingly-satisfying actions - is just going to crumble in the face of the real world messiness of this amazing, profoundly democratic space... that so well reflects the messiness of being human and the ways different people live and think and feel and interact with each other.   anyway, just wanted to respond to you.  I do agree that we need to work on civility. For sure.   "