After reading through this thread, I'm reminded of the difference between "real conflict" and "internet conflict".
Like many forums, this one is like a familiar member's hangout where we are all free to say whatever we like, but when controversy erupts, it has the potential to get more personal than it probably would in real life, because we aren't actually face to face.
I always feel pained when these things blow up. I've been a participant from time to time myself in quick and sharp replies to perceived attacks, and later wished I had been more careful about my choice of words. It sure is easy to misunderstand another persons intent, and even if their intention was less than noble, it's impossible to read their "tone" which is often far less threatening than it seems in text.
The thing is, since these aren't real face to face confrontations, one would hope we can all see them as less "real", less serious, and less meaningful.
If you've ever participated in the Yahoo forum, you know that this sort of angry mudslinging/flaming goes on all the time there. I've gotten into at least two angry exchanges with people in the Yahoo forum over the years, and later met both the parties in question, expecting them to be "Jerks" but found to my surprise that they were good and likeable guys, whom I now consider friends. Go figure.
