I appreciate the insights, and I do appreciate the hard work put in by the administrators. Further, and to be clear, my "1st amendment" and "militant" comments were just hyperbole to spark conversation. As stated, I fully understand that the administrators of the site can run it however they wish.
That said, locking threads because posters are "off topics and just bickering" seems entirely subjective. What are the rules governing "off topic"? What constitutes "bickering"?
Also, I completely agree tb727 about the acl tear post. Perhaps the rules for baiting are clear, but was it really necessary to ban someone 2 weeks for simply having a dark sense of humor? I suppose if they had a history, then I guess...
I would probably be happier with the site if it could be entirely user moderated (ala Digg, CL, /., etc), but alas, those systems are not easy to implement...