I think where I was really going with this thread on stabbing is that there isn't a mechanism to say basically "the other people in this discussion don't consider this post, or even this poster, as being worth responding to, due to their obnoxiousness/bad faith/persistent stupidity/repetitiveness.... caveat lector".
I wholeheartedly agree with gmaxwell.
This place is a mess!
Case / Current situation:Most users use the negative trust for this purpose.
But trust should be meaning "Can I trade with them? Are they trust-worthy?"
Being rude, or in general not being polite, shouldn't have anything to do with the trust meter.
Thought:Thus, I reckon we should have one more counter (similar to merit & trust), that would basically count "obnoxiousness level".
Giving someone an "obnoxiousness" would be like claiming this user is bad, this user is constantly rude, this user swears etc.
I like the idea, but it cannot be all about merit. It should involve activity, merit, and trust ho have a more "holistic" adherence to the spirit of the forum.