Respect

Oh the site enforces plenty...just the nature of the enforcement isn't as obvious as some want it to be.

Rude trolls get booted quickly, polite trolls can hang around until they pinch the babies, New Christian are always welcome, rude Christians and stalkers get banned.

But folks having a heated debate are allowed to stay....if someone complains but does the same thing, they both either get warnings or ignored.

Folks actually do get warnings that if they don't stop they will get banned. Some banns are for a day to have tempers cool and some are permanent.

I have been around long enough to see how it works and Abiding told me some of his logic and observations.

Having good mods isn't easy. Some people are too strict, some play favorites, some have bad doctrine. Some just don't hold the same values that the founder has, some react instead of respond. Most don't have the time or grace needed to be a mod.

Respect isn't "enforced in the forums" because it can't really.

I understand what you are trying to say, but it's the same going on here as elsewhere in society.
I worked three years in customer support. Someone yelled at me and told me I was doing a lousy job several times a day
(for doing what the bosses told me was a good job. If I did what the customers said was a god job, the bosses yelled)
I got cursed at every week, and screamed at a few times a year. A few of my coworkers recieved threats.

Point I am trying to make is: People are jerks. They are rude, speak before thinking and state their opinion as if it was law.
,,, and being online, and partly or entirely anonymous makes it easier for them to do it. (Try reading the comments section of almost any newspaper and you'll see)

Yes, we should be acting better than we are, but that's life. People act bad.