Well, no, not new-new. Perhaps a better way to say it is a new statement of a policy that’s grown and matured over time.
Never suffer a fool, gladly or not, for in doing so all you do is kick the can down the road and into a neighbor’s yard. Therefore, when encountering fools, dumbasses, trolls and yahoos, kick THEIR cans as often and as hard as necessary to at least make sure they know what behaviors have earned them their pain.
Of course, “kick their cans” is normatively a metaphorical construction that more or less means, “Read them the riot act, and keep reading it to them as often as you have the time and energy to do so until they at least decide to behave properly around you.”
Almost all of the fools, dumbasses, trolls and yahoos out there are “special snowflakes” who have never had their nonsense and execrably rude behavior thrown back in their faces, have never suffered any consequences for their behaviors. Mock them. Roundly and soundly. Point out each and every one of their flaws (“And you smell bad, too!” is a nice one–especially in Internet fora. *heh*) Name-calling, as long as it is restricted to being descriptive of their behaviors and not as attempts to rebut their arguments (assuming they can make any) is fair. If they fit the class, they’ve earned a wee bit of name-calling, but keep it descriptive and as close as possible to their evidenced behaviors!
Being polite to jackasses only encourages them in their bad behavior. Sometimes, they need a (metaphorical, remember!) 2×4 upside the head. Well, more like most times.
Thatisall.
Is it still OK to say that their mothers were hamsters and that their fathers smelt of elderberries?
Yes. It’s also OK to say, “Now, go away or I shall taunt you a second time!” It is equally proper to start the “mother. . . elderberries. . .” taunt with, ” I don’t want to talk to you no more, you empty-headed animal food trough wiper! I fart in your general direction!”
Yes, it is definitely proper, and I do use the Wisdom of Monty Python in dealing with the trolls, dumbasses and etc., of the Interwebs on a regular basis (as you no doubt can tell by the fact that I had the separate pieces of this famous taunt available via macros. . . *heh*).