With the transition to DK4 and the absence of administrative moderation of comments, I/P discourse on this site has devolved into a fetid shithole. Now some Kossacks might disagree, and suggest that I/P discourse here has always been a rank cess-pit of personal invective and thinly disguised bigotry, but I think it's fair to say that whatever norms once reined-in the most egregious comments and commenters no longer apply and that the tenor of I/P has become significantly more hostile. In light of Markos' pronouncements on moderation during and since the transition--that the community rather than the site administrators should bear the responsibility for tempering commentary--this state of affairs is unlikely to change.
This is not an appeal for Meteor Blades or any other site-administrator to take up anew the role of moderator. I much prefer that MB spend his time writing substantive and informative Front Page stories and diaries without distraction. Theoretically, we're all adults here and we ought to be able to monitor our own commentary without some form of administrative deus ex machina.