I kind of predicted this when Theymos originally offered to allow thread starters to set local rules which the moderators would enforce,
I hadn't known of local rules. Here's an example:
Local Rules: the following accounts are banned from posting in this thread: Puppet, EskimoBob, Deprived, Factory, nimda, 556j, MPOE-PR, cunicula and guruvan. Please post scam accusations in the scam accusation forum or you will be banned from next month's thread.
The reason I didn't know of them is because I don't often frequent the "securities" forum board. I did a forum search and all but one use of "local rules" occurred in the securities forum.
After noticing that, how can anyone who invokes local rules to squelch dissent ever be taken seriously?
Here's Theymos' post on "local rules"
OPs can specify local rules
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http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=31782.0And another thread on the topic:
Individual Thread Rules: Enforceable?
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http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=97756.0