If users are being unconstructive in threads, they will receive the appropriate punishment.
We tend to be reluctant to place a blanket ban on subjects if there's even the slightest chance that a thread might be a constructive discussion - obviously, there've been exceptions to this in the past (GearScore is one, EU vs US is another if I'm not mistaken) - however we usually allow discussions and close them as neccessary rather than restricting them off the bat.
While I agree with what you're saying... it's not like the folks that rage over Ghostcrawler nerfing Paladins, or people that speculate about what will happen next in WoW lore, Battleground imbalance, Flying mount costs, or even folks that pull the "X Faction is better than Y" are any better.
Some are even worse.
I'm not saying I like seeing these threads, because I don't. I hate netizens that feel they have to be witty and unique and do the SAME THING 20 other people just did. Would one thread be fine with me? Absolutely. But if you crack down on Rift, crack down on everyone. If that happened, you'd need a lot more mods.
But whether pro or anti on any subject related to gaming, people should be allowed to express themselves in a reasonable manner.
If there are threads about the same topic, please report them so they can be pointed to the other threads on the topic. Stickying something is probably the best way to make sure it's never read, but it's still our goal to reduce the number of near-identical topics.
The reality is, most of you dont like reading opinions that make you question your own, and thus you become inflammatory about it and stomp until the bad noises go away.