We prefer a 'light touch' moderation scheme, hence have a small mod team. This works best for oof, and has served us well for most of the 4+ yrs.
However, sometimes we have bouts of members being less tolerant, so we have cycles of heavier moderation - and we have to clamp down a bit harder.
EArlier this year we allowed some of these threads to remain longer than we should, and nastiness almost became the norm. We all went through much pain to get the site back on it's rails, and don't want to have to repeat that. I think I've publically said I certainly am not prepared to put that level of work in again, simply because some people are intolerant and think they can hide behind anonymity of the web.
The comment about all being adults is interesting in 2 respects. Some parents, rightly or wrongly, involve their children, and we've always said we are family friendly and open to all. Also, if we are Adults, how come so many of us sometimes act like children?
I'm all for free speech and freedom, but anybody using that right has to consider the audience, not just themselves. The Internet has bred a generation of people who overly abuse that right.
As a moderator here, i feel whilst we do make mistakes, we (admin team and membership) have got this site going more or less in the right direction, and created a healthy online atmosphere.