Thanks for posting this Maria. Is good information. And you give good advice: if we see a post we find offensive or inapplicable to the thread, it's best to flag it as inappropriate rather than replying to it. It's nice to know that's possible.
Linda once said "I love a good debate". So do I. Debates can be a spice of life. A good debate will present logical, reasonable, respectful opinions on both sides of an issue. A good debate is educational and fun.
Trolling, intentional derailing of a thread, or people using a thread (or multiple threads) for their own agendas have no benefit. When someone resorts to personal attack because others don't agree with their opinion... they've lost any claim to valid debate. Drama, flame posts, insulting, slander and intentional misrepresentation of fact do nothing but detract from what might be an otherwise valuable and informative discussion. It makes no difference if such tactics are accompanied by smiley faces or mock-politeness. The idea is to respectfully discuss issues, not harass other users, businesses or organizations.
You've shown us how to handle such posts here in a non-adversarial manner. One feature I wish Discus offered is a post automatically going to "flag" state once it's been voted down a number of times. That would be neat. So would endless cookies. And rums in kawfee. :D
Overall, this info sounds good to me. Thanks for showing us how to help you defend HB against negative posts and attitudes. Appreciated. : )