I think Dag has a handle on things, and I agree with his thoughts. I came from a BSD list, and there, such long flaming, off-topic threads were severely chastised amongst not only the other folks on the list, but the developers as well. Only did a thread get off topic for 3-4 rounds, and it came to a screeching halt, and the list was not moderated. As long as there is someone who will reply to an inflamatory message, there will be problems unless the general membership of the list puts an end to it with firm but no-nonsense replys to the individual(s) involved. Just my $.02 worth -- Snowman