Fred/Graham, I'm taking on board very seriously what you're saying, and with great respect, and in many ways I can't disagree with you. But look at it from my point of view, or at least this is how I see it:
If we didn't have a Bait Box the silly and abusive threads would simply get posted on the other, more sensible threads, and therefore lead to more destroying of sensible and interesting debates. That was why the Bait Box section was made in the first place.
The site has got tougher to moderate as it's got bigger and inevitably attracted more of the 'spoilers' along with the genuine, sensible members.
You surely have to admit that if the 'spoilers' restricted their activities to the Bait Box section then the other threads would not be hijacked to anywhere near the same degree.
This is what I'm fighting all the time. I just can't seem to get through to some that the good sport they think everyone is enjoying when they hijack a thread is only restricted to fun for a few, and that the majority of members find it tedious that yet another thread has been reduced to providing 'sport' for a minority.
You would think that providing a section (Bait Box) where continuous and unlimited banter, p*** taking, jokes and fun can be enjoyed would keep everybody happy, but no, some think it's a free for all on all the sections. Which is selfish and self-centred.
That, of course, doesn't mean that we can't have some fun and some banter on the other sections, just as we do in any conversation we have with fishing pals. But what we don't want are those members who prowl through the threads on all sections looking for something or someone to bait next.
It's impossible to keep every thread on track, whatever the topic, and maybe to a small degree we shouldn't want to. But what we don't want is the deliberate pollution of threads for no other reason than that the poster thinks it's good fun.
If I thought that doing away with the Bait Box section would cure all that then it would be gone in the next five minutes. But I don't believe that is the case. As I said, the pollution would just move even more to the other sections.
As always I'm open to suggestions about what can be done about it, or even if something needs to be done. Maybe the majority think it's fine as it is. Me, I'm just wondering how the hell I can get through the rest of this week without spending most of it fire fighting on the forum.