Reply #43: True.

[bemildred]

Although, if you have ever hung out on slashdot, things get pretty heated there too, and usenet long before that. It was started there in reponse to the low signal to noise ratio, and they are happy with it. The beauty of it is that the flame-warriors trash each other, while additional content tends to get rated up. It relies in part on the fact that posters are a small number compared to readers, and the audience controls the ratings. So you tend to get a high rating if the readership finds you useful, not because you are noisy or have a lot of friends. I don't know all the ins and outs, but it has worked very well there, and discussion is passionate. It seemed to me that it might be worth a look.