I think it's a question of maturity. There's nothing wrong with attacks as such. If arguments aren't attacked there's no life in a forum. So we need them. We only know if an argument is good if it's been attacked and the attack failed. But this is an art. Understanding when other target your arguments and not you, is a question of maturity. I think this is at the heart of the matter in any forum which has descended into personal attacks. This is what moderators are for. To let the less mature know when they're just being silly.