

I agree with everything you said at the top and this comment as well. You don’t have to be mean, cruel, or shitty to the bad actors. In fact the best case scenario is to make your case once and then walk away. It’s much easier to talk about than to actually do, but it’s really effective. If you assume they’re not trolls or bad actors, even better. All of these actions curtail flame wars, which is what they’re after anyway if you’re correct that they’re a bad actor or troll.
I have also noticed people agreeing with someone in a reply to another comment, but the original commenter has no upvotes. If you agree, upvote. If you kind of agree, upvote. If you don’t agree, but they make a good case, upvote and then say that. Upvotes make people feel good.