This thread has evolved into something else, but I am pretty sure that the OP made it because of the response he got to another thread he created... http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=187316&perpage=6&pagenumber=1 To which I say, don't create threads like that and you probably will not be met with so much contempt.
Clearly ET has deteriorated in recent years. Prior to ET I posted on SI (Silicon Investor) a lot. The crash in 2000 caused many to disappear from investment chat sites. That said, SI still has some really good forums, where posters are serious, contribute meaningful info and no trash talking occurs. I'd say ET is about one step above the typical Yahoo investment forum discussion thread.
Don't know how it was implemented but on SI someone moderated the thread and he/she had the ability to ban those who didn't abide by the rules. An example was (is) the Daytrading Fundamentals thread on that site where we had serious traders who were respectful, serious and contributed. Some forums on SI had more members banned than other threads, it often was a function of the subject matter and the range of views.
What this place needs is not a bunch of moderators, but a bunch of bouncers. The bouncer is not always fair and their decisions are oftentimes questioned, but they sure get the job done when called upon.
Those we ban can return because of the lack of moderation tools other forums have. From what I was told, this is because the forum software on this forum engine is too slow in the upgraded version, and hence, the owner does not want it upgraded. I would be willing to bet that the top 10 trouble makers on this board would vanish (permanently) if we had the tools to make it so.