... What exactly is the difference between trolling and flaming?

You're right, I did. I found it a quite fitting description of his behavior in that thread.

People who mock others (or flaming as it's known on the internet) don't always get banned. But it is still a bannable offense.

I also suggest you go back and look at his posts in that thread before you say he didn't insult people.

"But you all jump up and down and clap your hands fast if it makes you feel better about your lives"

"....also at least try and show a modicum of background knowledge"

ZaneWane posted: "Never mind. I misunderstood. Sorry."

Kow responded with: "you sure do...sorry... did."

He could have, and should have just gone into the thread said his piece and pointed out that the thread was old news. Instead he insisted on turning things ugly.  ie flamming.

http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/forum-rules.php#content

Flamebait and trolling. Posts or signatures slamming a particular platform without basis - be it a specific console, macs, windows, or anything similar - will not be tolerated. This applies to specific games as well as consoles.

• You always have the right to express your opinion, as long as it is relevant to the thread topic, and you do so in a civil manner, justifying what you say. If you want to discuss something other than the thread topic, make your own thread.
• The forums are here for gamers of all persuasions, so unless you're in a thread specifically geared towards platform comparison/discussion, keep your anti-platform comments out of the thread. Note that there is a difference between having a reasonable argument in the correct thread and trolling.
• Similarly, do not create threads, posts or signatures just to bait people of a specific fan group. Bait threads will be locked and you will be moderated for them. If you spend a lot of time making hit-and-run negative threads or posts about a specific platform you will also be moderated at the discretion of the moderators.

Insults and flaming. Attacking other users for any reason is never acceptable.

• Do not insult someone's religion, race, sex, sexuality, nationality, political beliefs, or gaming preferences. Debate is encouraged, as is civil disagreement, but respect the beliefs and opinions of others.
• Similarly, do not insult without justification any group of people, be it a religious group, political group, or anything of that sort.
• Don’t use slurs (gay, f*ggot, n*gger, etc) as insults, even if you’re not using them maliciously.
• Do not personally insult other users. This includes calling them fanboys or trolls.
• Report it when another user insults you instead of insulting them back. If they report you and no one reported their post, guess which one of you gets banned? The moderators do not have time to read every post in a thread, so they will often miss things that are not reported.
• In general try to treat other users with respect and courtesy. We understand debates get heated, but don’t lose yourself in them. Remember you can’t continue the debate if you’re banned, so be respectful to your fellow forum members.

Is the most official answer I can give you.

Out of curiosity, what's the difference between trolling and flaming?

Thanks.

They seem to be somwhwat overlapping, I guess. Not that it's really important, I just saw the list in the OP with all the reasons for bans and wondered what they meant, exactly.

Oh God, we did about 40 of those reports and I when I looked to see how many are left a new spambot spammed the mod queue and now there are 162 reports ;_;

He always acts condescending. He has been warned about that in the past many times. That's probably why he got banned. 

Holy hell, looks like you guys got your hands full! Is this common though? I've been here a long time and I don't remember quite so many bans as in the last 2-3 months, I'm thinking it's due to a new generation having started, emotions run high and people get lippy and defensive. I think users were banned for longer periods in earlier days, a lot of users seem to come back only to fly straight into another ban a day or two later, it's baffling to me how people manage to get themselves moderated so many times.

They are almost all spambot reports. Usually we get a couple hundred a week but I've never seen so many at once...and the mod queue was almost empty not very long ago. 

And now there are even more reports >_<

Edit: 211 reports and counting

211 now. After John & I have spent the past half an hour or so banning & deleting comments from 60 of those original 123 reports.

CHOCO BLOCKS! GAMEWISE!

(Do something, ioi)