In the last few years, I'm convinced we've acquired paid troublemakers who sow discord. But more to the point, there are those who ignorantly throw out statements along the lines of "Why doesn't Trump just get on the damned Oval Office phone and order Hillary arrested!" - which displays an abject ignorance of our Constitutional processes.
Oftentimes Free Republic is like a "Cheers" bar scene with drunken "Cliff Claven" types who don't know what they're talking about but have no qualms incessantly boasting their ill-conceived opinions about how things are supposed to be done on every thread.
Then I come upon the childish "You're a moron!" "No, YOU are!" "No, YOU ARE!" posts. That's when I abandon the thread.
Things like this are where we lose credibility. Educated people read these kinds of posts, shake their heads, and stay away.
It may be true that there are troublemakers, morons and ignorant people posting on FR. It's equally true true that there are intelligent, knowledgeable and thought provoking people on FR.
If you see abuse on a thread, report it. If you see a post that you disagree with, debate it. If someone responds ignorantly, correct them. If someone attacks you personally, ignore them.
Stay in the game!
No forum is perfect. The ignorant and troublemakers are a small minority.