Whee, i'm the poster child for derailing legitimate threads.

I have to agree with Benny on the point about a conversation running out of steam on topic and digressing into sidechat. May i suggest that if such a thing is observed to happen in an otherwise "productive" thread, the person who notices it (especially the thread starter) can request that posters "stay on topic"?

I have seen very little of that going on here. I think we're all paralyzed by the apparent liberalness of the place; worried that requesting normal forum etiquette will draw ire. The result is the seemingly passive-aggressive moderation as we (the mods) try to maintain some level of order to the chaos.