That is a tough one for me as emotional provocation is a valuable tool in a debate. Tone is also, but in a forum setting that is left to speculation or misinterpretation especially for pre internet people like me. I much prefer face to face discussions but those are not as covenient as internet forums. Unfortunately emotions are tied to passions/beliefs and are hard to suppress. And not to be a brown noser but you mods do very well 99% of the time keeping your emotions/beliefs/lifestyles out of your responses.
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Again, I think it's a matter of tone, or how it's said. Different opinions add spice, to say the least. Life would be a huge bore without them. With some civility in phrasing, a good lively debate should be able to continue without problem. However, if one's emotions are so tied to a viewpoint that an opposing one brings out the troll in us, causes things like name calling and belittling the person, then I feel we indeed need to back away. And this is a shame in many cases -- an opposing viewpoint may be perfectly valid, or at least arguable, but couched in terms that just aren't appropriate.
