<<do you see what I mean?>>

Yes. And I'm not at all married to the idea. It is probably not a very good one. It is not my intention to institutionalize rudeness on the board (and in saying that, I am making no inference from what you've written). I am looking for a simple mechanism to end discordant exchanges. The reason I suggested an emoticon is I though it *might* make a point without leaving much room to further strife. The problem I meant to address was that absent any clear-cut method for addressing offending posts, simply ignoring them has not seemed to function well to stem negative dialogue. On the contrary. I think this is because it builds no consensus concerning the impropriety of a given contribution. Absent a simple way to establish such consensus, responses to what may generally be deemed to a greater or lesser degree inappropriate tends to become too personal, too heated, and too drawn out. It seems to me -- and I may be wrong -- that people feel compelled to respond vehemently to what they deem offensive posts in order simply to establish a consensus. But that vehemence itself contributes, inadvertantly, to the creation and perpetuation of contention. And it is this dynamic which becomes truly destructive.

Whatever may be decided, the object of public statements, anyway, should be to diffuse rather than exacerbate *personal* tension. Not deference, perhaps, but cool heads and good judgment. We can fight instead about the greatest subject on earth -- who was it said being is language?