[SNOWBALL]

it depends what the table is like. A lot of the time it just doesn't matter. I've sat at 6/12 LHE tables full 100% losing players some being super fishy others just very mediocre, and they would berate eachother every few hands.

The action would go like this "How can you play that trash!?" says fish one, and then fish one cold calls a raise with j7o next hand.

It's somewhat rare IMO for a fish to actually leave or significantly tighten up after getting berated. Some of them probably get a kick out of dishing out some viscious beats, and maybe berating them causes them to try for more longshots.

The problem comes when a new player is there and wants to be in a social environment, but is made to feel uncomfortable or feel like he doesn't fit in. This happens frquently enough that berating fish has a longterm negative affect on game quality.

The easiest way to deal with it is to say "I thought he played it fine" however this might lead to a long strategy discussion which could make a new player feel even more uncomfortable.