I side with ESR, this is silly. What I think the moderators should have done in this circumstance is actually moderate. In cases like this where things are ge

I side with ESR, this is silly. What I think the moderators should have done in this circumstance is actually moderate. In cases like this where things are getting heated and you're obviously in an un-usual circumstance, schedule a real conversation to diffuse the situation. Slack, Zoom, Hangouts, phone call, whatever. Anything where tone and emotion can be effectively communicated. Can you do this always? No. Should you do it when you're founding member is at risk of being banned from the mailing list? Obviously, yes. This is what happens when people rely too much on email.