The M.O. was pretty much what we saw over the last several weeks - disagree with one of them and you'd get a mass ping to rally the troops, after which the heretic was assaulted from all sides in numbers impossible to reply to. Having been on the receiving end of that a few times I can tell you how infuriating it can be and how difficult it is to keep one's cool when it happens.
Terri's death has cast a dash of cold water on this particular boilover, not before it created a number of unnecessary casualties. It may be that some of us old-timers have come to depend on the Moderators too much to maintain board decorum. Here I plead guilty. There are worse things than being sneered at as a "forum cop," such as losing the forum, for one. It may be that in exchange for the undeniable slack some of us get cut, a little more exertion in the interest of politesse is in order. I find the role distasteful, but the alternative is worse.
Righto. Sounds like some of the previous Buchanan bashes with the ping roundup to enter into the gang bang [where I was on the receiving end]. The Schiavo threads were mild compared to the Nazi shouts then! Every other post. Hitler pics, the works.
My only suggestion to moderators would be the scratch any post that does not discuss the article and instead spends time bashing the author or the poster.