In my opinion the first step is this: stifle the trolls, NOT the contributors.

One thing about parenthood is that it provides one with the great opportunity to eat a lot of humble pie. By this I mean listening to ourselves lecturing our kids and realizing we, too, have a lot to learn. In my case that was in the area of instant rebuttals, a bad habit of mine. My youngest son developed the same bad habit and I had to face the "demon inside myself". So last year I started down that path of self-correction so he could better avoid the path of self-destruction.

So that's where I'm coming from. And I'm not even saying "do as I do". I'm saying we all have a tendency to let ego get the better of our innate humanity and that admitting this is the first step toward better relations with others.

I see the instant rebuttal reflex as a HUGE problem here in that it comes across as a slap to posters. I would caution council members especially to flip the conversation around before they commit to that Post Quick Reply button, and consider how it would come across to them.