[EricH]

Isaac, it may help you to hear it from someone who hasn't taken part in this discussion yet, and won't take a side, because both have valid points.

If you can't say something in a nice way, ask yourself if it's worth the trouble to say it.

Whether or not Dean meant any harm or not is irrelevant. A number of people have thought themselves insulted due to the wording used. They have chosen to walk. If they saw your comments about them being immature and unprofessional, that's all they'd need to keep walking.

This conversation was serious. There was good discussion happening. But when someone comes in and says this is "light-hearted conversation", after delivering a number of insults, intentional or not, to both the people involved and some that were not, I think it's a good time to lock the thread for a weekend to let the insulted have time to cool off. (I might also suggest a number of other things, but most of them would just feed the trolls.)