Not if the mods crack down on it. It's all in how the mods/admins handle it. If they don't allow it, it won't happen.
If the mods start cracking down in the manner it would take to eradicate over-the-top arguments and the like (en mass post deletions, indiscriminate bans and perma-bans), my guess is there would be left a lot of active members feeling alienated by the goings on, and if they were to not just stop posting here immediately, they would slowly drift away and find other places to populate.
Of course, there's the chance that everybody learns to accept the new rules and way things are done and move on, but with the potential cost being what it is, I don't see it as worth the risk. Better to just wall-off a section of the board for those types of things to go to and make it private so only active members (who are more likely to know the score going in and be able to accept what goes on there) can see it.
This is not to say that the site as a whole should be no-holds-barred, and certainly short-term bannings and public warnings for egregious violations can be a useful tool, but to just make a site-wide crackdown like what you're talking about could be a fatal blow.
opcorn:
