Thank you Lesley. I (and I think most people) are very grateful that someone can and does step in when things get too heated, and locking that thread was absolutely the right call. I also hope it won’t have to happen very often.
I had my own thoughts about that other topic, but I am, as you suggested, letting them echo in my own head and then go away.
I’d say that being able to mute people on Twitter has been a godsend, but then I thought… how do I know? 
[whistles nonchalantly like Our Heroes do at the mention of “Lip and tongue action.”]
It MIGHT be a possible addition if we were self-hosted – right now these forums live on Discourse’s servers. There’s actually a bunch of perks I’d like to add if we ultimately choose to self-host but right now making actual episodes takes priority. 
I had as well!
Thanks. Consideration is all I can ask. 
[ETA- And belated thanks to the folks who’ve pointed out that a Mute of someone I can’t get along with is already do-able. I had searched earlier, but not in the right place. ]
I’m so out of the loop. I think I don’t have the hang of this yet, since I don’t see a lot of threads I’m interested in until they’ve been running for weeks, and no idea what y’all are taking about. (I mean, concretely. Obviously I know exactly what you’re talking about in the abstract, since it happens in every forum.)
Edit: I do think I’m going to host my own Discourse server, since it sounds like fun, though.
Thanks for clarifying. This stands out:
Right on.
Just so you all know, you can explicitly Ignore and Mute users in your Preferences, as shown here. Note that the selected users are for illustrational purposes only and I would not ignore or mute them. It’s easier following them here than lurking in the bushes near their homes, though I enjoy that too.
For whatever it’s worth, if it helps anyone, Discourse does have what looks to be a fairly robust Mute/Ignore feature, allowing you to mute or hide (behind a “click here to see it,” not completely invisible) notifications and/or posts. You can set it to be for various lengths of time if you just need to cool things off a bit. Just go to that user’s profile page, drop down the menu on the top right which is defaulted to “Normal” and set it how you want it.
EDIT: Yes, what @SandyFrank said.
Thanks, I thought there was a handy dropdown way of doing this as well. Good job on pointing it out. That’s likely a quicker and easier way of ignoring/muting a user on the fly.
[snif!] 
I know you can’t read this but I already miss you! I’ll spend the rest of the day gadding about the house in memory of our time together!
Now I’m glad we cut down all the bushes and planted flowers instead.
This is a thorny issue. I like the democracy at the heart of @khalleron’s idea, but I think I’m utlimately with @ladyshelley. Troublemakers and trouble topics are two separate things. There seem to be few (if any) troublemakers here, and I think systems are in place to deal with them if necessary.
I wholeheartedly support civil discussion, especially when different viewpoints abound, but experience seems to have shown us all that certain topics just invite trouble. Proactively nipping those threads in the bud isn’t necessarily fair, but my opinion is that it’s the best course of action.
Curse you Nastenka, you wicked little viper!
Y’all are the actual greatest. Thank you for sharing these details.
Happy to help ease your load! Thanks as always for your continued hard work and patience.
I did too! I want to be as happy as this pair:
A Jazz concert would be SWEET right about now!
I like that I’m the example
You’re an example to us all. You’re our shining beacon on the hill, our green and pleasant land, our Johnny at the Fair.
