Nancy,

>Self-policing really works much better, IME and NSHO.

I certainly prefer self-control over external control. Unfortunately, there is not enough self-control of the type that DavidF recently described being put into action here.

Any society, including online communities, must have enforceable standards or live with the anarchy that ensues without them. You and I may know that it's wrong to destroy someone else's property or reputation, but there are also enforceable laws dealing with those things in case we don't exercise enough self-control.

From dictionary.com:

an·ar·chy (nr-k)
n., pl. an·ar·chies.

Absence of any form of political authority.
Political disorder and confusion.
Absence of any cohesive principle, such as a common standard or purpose.