Is this a big problem, or a little one? Looking at the record:

We had slightly over 10,000 posts in the 120-day period starting last October 1. Some people posted more than others of course, and it broke down as follows (without naming names):

1320 posts
1140 posts; person driven off by hurtful comment
833 posts
794 posts; person driven of by hurtful comment
636 posts; 623; 575
406 posts; 379
375 posts; person driven off by hurtful comment
344 posts; 286; 264
238 posts; 220
208 posts by a sender of hurtful comment
196 posts; 170; 170 again
156 posts; person driven off by hurtful comment
152 posts; 113; 112
99 posts by a sender of hurtful comment
88 posts; 80;
54 posts; 35
23 posts by a sender of hurtful comment
20 posts by a sender of hurtful comment

Those driven into silence provided 24½% of our posts.
Those driving them away provided 3½% (not counting hurtfulness that the recipient was able to "shrug off").

I would not raise this matter if only a few posts were driven away. But when we lose people who accounted for a full quarter of our discussions, has the problem reached a degree where it is seriously damaging to our board -- with a few people drowning out substantial voices?

After opportunity for comment, I will suggest what I hope would be a solution painless for all.