Another option, a more "moderate" one 
, might have been just to cull those posts deemed beyond the pale, rather than freeze the thread sinking it into oblivion. But that can get labor intensive. But in the end, part of the job of being a mod is being a good politician. One just cannot wholly escape that.
The whole idea of the thread was one of ultimately insulting other people, something that opebo and others really brought to my attention and convinced me of over recent months on The Atlas board.
Plus, that thread had too many problems, and when you have to delete over a page of crap - it's time for the thread to just be put to rest.
