We do try to stop the friction, often behind the scenes with the involved parties. Sometimes posting a warning shot is sufficient, while some people see that as a challenge and press on. Then we have to try to get folks to chill out and not take things so dang serious on most issues and retract words or postings. Telling someone most of our ages to stop doing what they are doing isn’t the funnest of tasks... I volunteered to accept this role but the scratches from herded cats isn’t much fun at times.
Slippery slope as too little is seen as too little until we do issue a timeout and then we get accused of being quick triggered and over moderating.
Threads drift and often bring more discussion after the OP’s question has been answered and the drift occurs. In this case, current events and emotions had a head on crash and the OP pulled the plug. MAYBE, after some time, the contents will reappear and life will go on.
Times are tense and folks seem to be looking for an outlet... maybe instead of needing to have the last word, a step away and a deep breath outdoors would be a better plan.
Works for me anyways.
