Hi Lindsay
Sadly, the reality is that there'll always be an "awkward minority" out there, - I'm being untypically polite as regards my choice of words !
In this case this minority obviously totally fail to appreciate two basics of genealogical research, - (a) transcribing, and (b) name spelling.
As regards (a) the Golden Rule is to transcribe as is, i.e. exactly what appears in the record, no more, no less. OK, sometimes the hand or the copy quality may cause difficulties, in which case some appropriate comment is required.
But if great-uncle Frederick McHOUGHMAGANDY appears in the mining record as Fred MacHOCHMAGANDy, then that's the way that it has to be transcribed.
Some very well funded and better resourced databases have the time and money to add alternative spellings when descendants can demonstrate that there were valid alternatives, but to expect you to do so is a load of utter nonsense; and people should appreciate that. Most do. I'm one, part of the great silent majority out here who cannot state just how much your tremendous efforts over the years are very greatly appreciated.
That you have to put up with occasional abuse is quite unacceptable.
See the earlier comments about reporting the posters to their ISPs.
I'm not very famliar with your set up, but there may be provision in your software for locking out such posters by including their email addresses and/or individual ISP addresses on a list that are no longer permitted to access the website. Andrew P here on TS may be able to advise.
And then we come to spelling variations....... up to the UK National Insurance Act of 1911 most folk had no reason to be consistent in the spelling of their names.
My mother's youngest sister always insisted that their McLENNAN side had ONLY EVER USED ONE SPELLING. It was with tongue in cheek that I enjoyed pointing out to her that her grandfather George McLENNAN could be shown to have used at least 5 different spellings during his lifetime, and he was well educated, having butled for minor Scottish nobility.
The 1911 NI act created an ongoing national database, still going strong 100 years later; and, back in the first couple of decades, if you couldn't recall your NI number (hands up how many can recall it without having to consult a wage/salary slip, or a tax document?), and you were bit uncertain about your exact date of birth (in the early decades of the 20th century many older folk wouldn't have a state birth certificate), then variant spellings of your name only created more difficulties in getting any benefits due under the act.
As a result, from 1911 onwards surnames tended to become regularised as regards spellings.
Note that the 1841 onwards decennial censuses were just 'snapshots' of the population at 10 year intervals, and were not continuing databases.
I'd put money on the situation that were I to research the tree of one or more of your abusers, I would be readily be able to demonstrate that, over several generations, a range of different surname spellings were used.
We once had an e-mail complaining that as the proud descendant of Irish miners, the correspondent was deeply offended by the racist views on our site. This complaint referenced an 1888 article! As an equally proud descendant of Irish miners, I just laughed and ignored it
To many people this will be verging on the unbelievable, but based on 25 years of experience of bulletin boards etc. it very sadly doesn't surprise me.
Yesterday we got another quite rather upsetting one (we are disrespecting the memory of their G grandfather by not correcting “our” mistake)
Similarly unbelievable. Just where is the logic in their claim that you are 'disrespecting' their ggf ?
which on top of a few negative ones in recent weeks makes us both want to shut up shop. I would appreciate any more neutral views (positive or negative) on whether our non-correction/non-annotation policy is valid.
Please, please, please don't even begin to let these numpties get to you.
The silent majority out here, in their 1,000s, probably 10,000s or more, only want you to continue with this magnificent website
mb
The effort you must put into your site must be tremendous with constant updates and amendments. My only complaint is I can't pay a brief visit. There are so many vital bits of information, social comments, fascinating stories that an entire evening can be lost 
Please keep up the good work ('good' is an inadequate word to use 
) Just about everyone on TalkingScot who has mining ancestors must have visited, not once, but many times without acknowledging their appreciation of the increased understanding they gained about their ancestors lives. May I offer my personal appreciation for increasing my understanding of my great uncles role as a GP in the Coatbridge/Motherwell area dealing with the results of mining accidents; my father's role as ambulance man with Ormiston Coal Company and my many Fife colliers ancestors. Your efforts made that info available to me.
) 