// I can honestly say that the propensity to hate I've witnessed on these pages goes far beyond anything I have ever encountered in real life. //
Inasmuch as this is true, it's a general feature of online discussions -- regrettable as it is, I don't think that AB is in any meaningful sense
worse than any other social media sites, and indeed the relatively small size of the community, and at least some amount of moderation, means that it's probably rather a lot less filled with hate than elsewhere.
Also, this seems an odd place to bring it up. There's no hate directed towards Ferrier that I can see. She broke the law -- whether it should have been the law or not -- and in the process she fell short of the standards that ought to be expected of the lawmakers, the MPs. I confess I'm surprised that the period of suspension that's been recommended is as long as 30 days, but without having read the report or full details perhaps there's some aspect of her conduct both at the time and afterwards that has led to something so severe.