Addressing the issue directly in the topic without moderational powers is identical in nature to "feeding the troll." Nothing gets done by merely yelling back. I will also let you know that since I first was promoted to B^3 mod, I have received exactly zero PMs from members concerning behavior in a certain thread of sorts, and the reported threads I have seen were already taken care of when I logged in(not that very many reports happen anymore either). In other words, this "backseat modding" not only prevents the staff from being informed of the situation from the get-go, but it leaves a bigger mess to clean up, leaves a sour taste in the forum, and slowly leads to a loss in forum interests and values as a whole. The solution?
WHEN YOU SEE RULE-BREAKING OCCUR IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM, PM THE MODS OR ADMINS AND LET THEM HANDLE IT.