I think the new rules will have unintended consequences...

[Moonwalk]

68. It won't discourage debate because the button pusher is as much on trail....

..as the person they push the button on. I just did this jury duty. The jury to judges not only the "offensive" comment, but the person who was offended. And they are offers several choices in each judgement.

So. You say something to me and I'm offended. I push the button on you. Hah-hah! I think. I've erased this offensive thing! But not so fast! The choices that a jury gets don't just include "is it offensive or not?" But also "is it deliberately offensive?" The Jury might find your comment offensive, but might realize that you didn't mean it the way. They may recognize that you were just going your way in the debate. And, of course, they might also say, "Nope. Not offensive, don't remove."

AND THEN...whatever the jury decides, I (the person to sent the post to trail) gets put on trail, too. The jury gets asked whether I was justified in asking for a jury to check this post out. AND whether the jury thinks I was really offended, or whether I was trying to cause trouble.

In short, was I trying to discourage debate? So, your fear that this is going to create a situation where "delicate flowers" are going to be pushing the alert button at every turn, and that fear of this will discourage debate doesn't seem likely. Because the person who pushes that alert button might have it come back and bite them. Once people learn this, they'll know that they shouldn't push the alert button unless they really, really think this or that post is going beyond the pale. They'd better be sure the jury will not only see it their way, but see them as justified for pointing it out. Otherwise, they may be the one judged as the troublemaker.