Would it ever be possible to have an "ignore" list, so you would no longer see posts by certain people? Since the Team refuses to deal with the idiots who seem determined to ruin the forums for the rest of us, an ignore feature might be a way to deal with it?
Seems simple things are often difficult to program or implement, though. Just an idea.
As for everyone talking about certain people's "right" to post whatever they want and "right" to be as disruptive as they want... They forget this is not a democracy. We all agreed to MacNN's terms upon registration. But I guess, as usual, the silent majority will suffer.