I'd love a site where we could openly discuss things. Most people behave fairly well, even in a vigorous discussion, and I enjoy spirited debate.

Some people do behave badly, unfortunately, and anything worthwhile will always attract some flamers & a--holes. It's just the natural result of people who can operate completely anonymously. There are always a few percent who go a bit mad with the freedom.

How to handle this depends on what the community expects, more or less. Some communities are better able to weather having a few idiots roaming around commenting on everything than others. There are three ways to handle things. One, is to let the community self-police, and ignore or abuse the abuser at will. Two is to have a moderator who previews and approves each and every message. And, Three is to have an open forum, but one from which troublemakers will be kicked out and banned, after the fact of whatever trouble they cause.

In my opinion, method two is too burdensome on all involved, and the delay in message posting destroys the spirit of an open forum. Three is kind of hard to get right -- misinterpretations happen and people can get baited into overreacting. Number one is worth a shot, but you will lose some users who don't want to deal with the flaming and abuse. I have seen systems where users can click on messages to report abuse. Of course, that system can be abused, too, where people click on every message they disagree with. It all comes down to how much bad feelings can you, and the community that gathers to the site, learn to deal with, while still benefiting from the positive aspects of an open discussion.

If you start an open comment system, I do wish you the best of luck, the thickest of skins, and the most joyous of outlooks! I'd love to be welcome to participate, on an equal footing with everyone else. It'd make for an interesting experiment, if nothing else.

As far as communities go, though, the TG community, such as it is, is amongst the least stable and most sensitive. We seem to be at each others' throats far too often, over the least little things, and there are several people who are seriously at risk, including a number who have, over the years, attempted or threatened suicide. There are very real dangers, to real people's lives, in creating an evironment that can add to feelings of abuse, isolation or low self-esteem. I don't know how to deal with that. I certainly don't want to see anyone get hurt. Big warnings? An elaborate disclaimer that people would have to read and sign before they could participate? A screening committee for participation in the first place? An in-place crisis counseling team? All of the above? None of the above?