Of course, those comments just as terrible and repetitive. From a moderation point of view it makes zero difference whether the high-order bit is yay or boo.

Maybe it "has to stop" but that doesn't mean it will stop. People won't stop behaving like people. All we can do is moderate what we see, as I mentioned above. Fortunately the community sees a lot more than we do—so if users bring to our attention posts that need moderation, it extends our range.