I have been here for a little while now, been in the back ground, don't post a lot, and have learned a lot since joining. I have read the threads that get OT and think a hybrid of B R's idea would be nice. What about a general moderator account that you could PM and have a /moderator objectively assess if the posts are going to name calling and over the line. That way the OP is not the one deciding to ban a poster from the topic. It is sad that the threads need babysitters though.