I am fairly new myself and I agree with most of what you’ve said here except for the last sentence. The thing I’ve noticed is that when it comes to the internet, adults seem incapable of policing themselves. It’s a pretty decent statement on society if you’ll excuse my philosophizing. Rules are necessary for a society to remain healthy and productive. So long as there is a safe place to vent, those rules are easier to follow. For this group the Pit is that place.
Most every unmoderated forum I’ve joined ends up troll heavy and content light because the owners indulge themselves in the naive belief that if you ignore the trolls they’ll go away. It doesn’t work of course, because someone always says something to the troll and one response is all they need. Reasonable voices get drowned out more and more frequently then leave in search of a place with a better tone and there you are stuck with a usenet forum. Fortunately it looks like the people who set this board up recognized that and made a place for all the ranting and frothing. I’m still a little too intimidated to post there but I recognize its necessity. It’s how I wound up here.
I’ll throw my hat in with those who have been around long enough to know the difference. The other fora need rules and the Pit should stay as the relief valve with as few rules as possible.
While I’m at it I will say that after reading all the drama that led up to this thread, I think it’s important that the rules should apply across the board. If you are a moderator and you are posting as a poster in the Pit you should be prepared to man up and get as good as you give, otherwise stick to moderating and leave the pissing contests alone.