It's weird, but I've seen it time and time and time again on all sorts of discussion forums - work-related, community, special interest. Suddenly everyone is flying off the handle at each other, taking offence, giving offence, and of course it's never really intended - it's just that for some reason people interact with each other on discussion forums in a completely different way than if they were together in a pub or the street.

I don't think it's because people have 'user names' that mask their true identity because I've also seen this sort of stuff on staff forums when everyone was identified.

I do think it's because we all occasionally forget that, because we're not 'talking' in real time to each other, we forget that on the internet a posting is a succession of broadcasts and not a conversation.

Moral for everyone (my hot-tempered self included): Pause before hitting the 'Post' button.

Anyway - here's one of my favourite cartoons to lighten things up a little. http://xkcd.com/386/