I have seen and own the film Furball. I would have made a reference to Saddam, but I I felt it could be construed as being a bit over the top. You couldn't handle my meds.
Shane, there is a huge difference between taunting and being abusive. There is nothing wrong with a good taunt, as long as the person taunting knows there is a line that can be crossed.
The response you gave to the taunting was over the top. BUT, if the person taunting keeps feeding them, then he/she is just as guilty.
If I come into a situation where multiple players are just having a good old fashion flamefest on the open channel, I will mute them all and privately tell them why. I can get away with this. The MA moderators cannot do this.
Depending on what was being said, I may unmute them with the clear understanding they need to calm it down.
It is understood there are times when people will get miffed. We would like to hope that an angry player will have enough sense to back away and cool off, but in reality, it seldom happens.
This player will usually apologize for his/her behavior later on. Not always, but it is something to watch for.