Your assumption of "seemingly mature adults" is where things might be falling down for you.
Ingnore the fools and TOU the name callers.( the ignore function can turn a volitile thread into an informative one simply by ignoring one or two users)
I like opposing views if they are based on substance it keeps me thinking.
In the end it is someone with a sily nic name banging out an opinion, they could be ignorant, ill informed, and based on misinformation, either way its easy to put a value on said opinion.
Having teenagers I can tell you that what goes on in HC is nothing compared to cyber bullying, which is far more serious than many people think.