zett - 7:51 pm on May 27, 2010 (gmt 0)

I think every moderator should have a formal anti-conflict (de-escalation) training, specifically for the online world. A mod needs to be able to calm down participants of a discussion while NOT stiffling down the discussion. That's an art in itself, hence the formal training.

(And yes, in a former life, c. 1996/1997, I got such a training, believe it or not, specifically for online communities. It really works, and I'd make such a training a requirement for any mod working on a commercial discussion forum.)