Regarding whether words can hurt-- I've been sued for defamation as a result of an email. So the US courts apparently think words can hurt (though the outcome in this case was that the jury decided the words in question hadn't actually done any damage).
Separately, I think spam does harm the "commons" -- it disrupts actual conversations, ties up internet resources, and may ultimately drive away conversation participants if the noise to signal ratio gets high enough.
I think the situation with bowerbird, though not nearly as bad as spam or as severe as defamation, was difficult. His posts had always been negative, but this had become rather extreme in recent weeks. I sort of wonder if something happened in his life that tipped the balance toward negativity. It would be nice to think that he might eventually be able to rejoin us... or some civil online community, anyway. I see it as a sign of poor health when someone can't interact with others except by arguing.
