Reply #28: Ah, but I believe that good manners keeps one from scolding another [View All]

Best to keep silent if someone starts verbally fencing if you are a bystander. And if you are not, you can always end the "match" with "You may be right." Nice thing about that sentence is that it diffuses any built up anger and yet does not concede one's own point of view. And it is truthful, by and large--unless something can be irrefutably proven, then there is always a bit of doubt about a statement. Besides, it is an interesting practice in and of itself, especially if one feels one's ego is getting a bit out of hand in any given situation.

The only time that one should intervene in what are known as "flame wars", I think, is to hit the ALERT button if you feel that a poster has violated the rules. In your PM to the mods, you can explain. Then you do NOTHING ELSE. This is especially hard because often you want to reply, especially if the remark made is blatantly rude in some way. But if you have patience, you'll come back and see that the post has been deleted because the person didn't follow the rules.