British Parliament houses a lot of ex-public school boys where such behaviour is par for the course.
It would seem that making personal attacks on a forum is the easiest way to get attention. It is also less effort to heckle than it is to construct a sensible argument and make a useful contribution. There are some here who use the forum to vent their personal frustrations, anger and disappointment.
Over the years I have been guilty of this. Afterwards I felt hollow and unsettled, so I try to be civil. The remarks we make will always be driven by our emotional state of mind, as we are human. We are not exactly the same person from day to day but move within our own range of emotions. The extent of that range can vary greatly from person to person.
I sometimes enjoy the cat and dog fights on fickle threads. It’s a shame when they ruin serious discussion on threads that could be sensible debate. Well thought out comments are drowned out by the noise. The risk is that sensitive people may be driven away from JWnet.