I totally agree with most of your post here. I also wish it were that easy.
But what I left here I cannot agree with. I wish we could be self-regulating. But it wont happen.
Just like in school, when someone gets a little cocky, a little rambunctious, others will join him until the teacher catches the ringleader & makes an example of him. Then everything calms down.
I will be the first to say I'm one of those that got carried away with the rambunctious ones. I let my guard down, & I compromised my standards. It's easy to be rambunctious when surrounded by rambunctious characters.
Another reason I did was because I was beginning to quit caring. Things are getting worse all the time, & I finally began to give up, because "why bother, when there's no discipline? There's been several with multiple warnings (I have one), not just in the BDF either. But it seems only trolls are banned.
When I stayed in the chat rooms. we HAD to have someone banned every now & then..... really. Some nut would come in & would get banned. But..... when that happened, those on the borderline found their place & behaved.
We live by example, & when we don't, we have to be shown an example.
Oncefallen was definitely going in the right direction when he stated a handful of people is gonna have to be banned if it doesn't change.
The church has a corporate responsibility as well as a personal responsibility. But we need to be sorely reminded that not everybody here is a christian.
Ugly & Oncefallen is right..... judgment HAS to come, not may, not might have to.