As I'm sure you are aware, Conhog is back and posting with us. This was MY decision. I've done it MANY times over the years, and I'll do it again for further members down the road. If second and third chances weren't allowed, barring terrible actions, then I would have been forbidden from this board myself, a LONG time ago!
But I'm not going to have the board go into a frenzy over one member. It's dumb. And it's easily avoided. I've said this a million times over the years. If you TRULY despise someone so much, to the point that you cannot read their posts without replying negatively, then place that member on ignore. The idea that the choices are a) fight to the death and ruin threads, or b) someone leaves or gets banned - is a dumb, dumb, dumb idea, and simply is not going to happen.
We're adults here and all capable of controlling ourselves. We can place someone on ignore and simply move forward as things were. Or simply have self control and not reply to people we don't like to interact with. OR, one can go into the steel cage and participate, instead of ruining good threads that other people wish to participate in.
I am telling staff, and now the board, this is how we should and are moving forward:
If petty arguments and such start up in threads, the offending posts will be moved to the cage where those people can finish. They will also be banned from participating in the thread where the fighting started. That's it, it's that simple.
As it is, now I have to run around today to a bunch of threads and clean them up. No way I'm doing this daily. If you hate someone, and want to fight with them, take it to the cage. No one is prohibited from fighting, so long as it is in the proper place. No one is prohibited from good threads, as long as they don't ruin them. No one is told they 'have to' place someone on ignore, so long as they can be adult enough to separate where to fight and where to debate.