I probably had the fewest 'bannings' of any of the mods at JI, - but I would've given fl a day off for that - it was uncalled for, and he escalated the situation unnecessarily. If that becomes the norm, this will be a place where a dozen or so posters come to argue, and others steer clear shortly after realizing.
The rule of thumb at JI was "attack the post but not the poster" as well, on the main board anyway (things were more lenient in the hampur) - but there became a sort of clique formed with some mods and some posters, and there was some preferential treatment given, sides taken, etc. I also think Sooth made the mistake of naming some mods that were far from moderate, were too passionate to be moderators. What makes someone a great poster doesn't always make them a great moderator. I bet some of them would admit that now that there's some distance.