I agree, and in so doing, we would be unanimous in our estimation that a great number who frequent this site (and the majority of other sites in the same genre) are "walking disorderly" (2 Thes. 3:6) - believers and posers alike.
Believers do have a charge: Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every
brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us; For yourselves know how ye ought to follow us: for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among you; Neither did we eat any man's bread for nought; but wrought with labour and travail night and day, that we might not be chargeable to any of you: Not because we have not power, but to make ourselves an ensample unto you to follow us. (2 Thes. 3:6-9). Unfortunately, we cannot not assume that every poster is a "brother."
Largely it's the tares (but not always) who go back and forth saying `you see what he/she said? Don't you think that's atrocious?' They can then take the response and send it all around until they've stirred up "certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar." (Acts 17:5). And these tares can be very subtle in their ravaging of their prey. In the ensuing turmoil, they then seek to capitalize on it by insinuating themselves as the defenders of truth.
Unfortunately, unwary believers are easily sucked into this repetitive maelstrom that
seems to present a clear case of
good versus evil. But
truth is the first casualty of war, and in the spiritual warfare that is raging even now, the Christian forum has become a stronghold of Satan. Indeed, there seems to be a
spirit associated with the very concept - thus I choose to avoid that unsavory arena on the internet unless directed otherwise by my Master.
Even though such forums are a very economical and inexpensive way to communicate, the spiritual price tag is too high. The sad truth is, the forums reduce everything to its lowest common denominator and the world's Christians are poorer for it.
This is truly good to see i.e. the nexus of the problem brought out into the open.
I just
knew you were gonna ask that.
Well, I'm always one for raising the bar, but again, we're stuck with that "lowest common denominator" playbook. I've seen other sites specify more particulars in their ToS. And of course the mod's would then need to be on that same page by actively enforcing the ToS anyway. While
someone has to wield the ruler, too often I've seen mod's do too little in trying to maintain the higher ground.
As a self-employed guy, I've always insisted on a clear "original agreement" before entering into any business deals/arrangements. It's inevitable that, sooner or later, the deal will go sideways, if only temporarily. So the original agreement serves as the one and only feature that keeps the parties on track. And for forums such as this, the "original agreement" would be a very clear and very thorough and actively enforced ToS.
