Do posters intend to hurt the feelings of other members?

As I'm sure you've noticed Celander, and why you posted this, there is an abundance of lack of regard for others on Audiogon. I have no idea why on a high end audio forum low end, intentionally rude and hurtful interactions are tolerated.

My solution would be for the moderators to suspend offenders and then expel repeat offenders. That would in my opinion make Audiogon a more pleasant place to visit, and attract more participants. To my mind this is the best site for discussion of high end audio with others who enjoy the same. There's no reason to be put off by hurtful or derogatory comments directed at others. Intolerable behavior simply shouldn't be tolerated. Those are my thoughts on this subject anyway. 

Mike

I think Audigon needs more moderator attention as well but I think there has to be an expectation by the owners of the site that it will be civil and cordial.

I also think the moderators would need to pay close attention to context. This takes a lot of work on their part but I have had several posts deleted when the content was obviously intended to be humorous and on one occasion it was a Monty Python quote.

The moderator involvement would need to be more interactive as well. In other words, not just deleting posts without explanation. They would need to guide discussion when necessary, delete posts when necessary, suspend or remove offenders when necessary.

It seems to me that many of the elder (long time posters) seem to cut one another a lot of slack in heated debates. Newbies, not so much...

@mr_m - I think every chat board has a "culture" and from what I've witnessed over many years on other boards in diverse fields is that someone who comes on blazing is not going to get a positive reception. A little humility goes a long way. This board is far from the worst in my experience- most people seem pretty willing to help. I only started posting here in around 2006, when I had a question about transitioning from electrostats to horns and got a lot of good feedback. 

Moderation- generally- is almost a last resort. Participants should self-moderate to a degree. When a mod has to step in, things are usually ugly- personal attacks, politics or the like. But, I do agree that once the rules are set, a violation should have consequences, starting with a 'time out.'
I acted as a consigliere for an exotic car board for a number of years- lots of big egos and no small amount of sniping. It was a thankless task for the mods, who were largely volunteers. Tammy does a pretty good job in my estimation.