Indeed, in my initial observations, despite the clear wording of the "terms," one may post the most bigoted statements imaginable but so long as they are just aimed at abstract persons at-large rather than a commenter they breeze right on by. A free for all for white supremacists, misogynists, homophones, etc. 

I suspect that DP's efforts to have "civil" commentary without the slightest effort on their behalf to discipline clear rule breakers will prove a "real live experiment" demonstrating Gresham's Law. If an online publication wants quality commentary, it should focus on quality and worry a tad less about artificial civility. But that takes effort and paid staff.

Not that the matter is entirely of DP's own making. Some people live in a bubble of such routine bigotry that I suspect some of them don't even see it anymore. Sort of like a half-blind old man living alone who no longer sees the dust everywhere and the dirt on everything. It's just part of the landscape.