Here's what I have learned from Internet forums and chat rooms in general, and bonsai in specific:
We have to work much harder to keep what we post circumspect and precise, because much of what passes for posts would earn one a punch in the nose in person!
I have had my share of giving and receiving on that end. I have found that it diminishes me as a person to stoop to that level. I have been working very hard not to participate in it and to quash it when I see it. I don't do this out of some feeling of superiority, just out of the knowledge of a pitfall in the path and the desire to help others avoid it.
Written communication (in letters, books, etc.) has always required precision. To read a book and actually laugh out loud is a tribute to the author's humor and ability to communicate such in writing. To read a book or a letter and weep is a tribute to their ability to communicate a depth of feeling in a constricting atmosphere.
Email has gone a long way to ruining our ability to communicate clearly in writing, and text-messaging is going even further than that.
I was fortunate to grow up before the widespread use of computers, so I was forced to learn to write. Now if I can just make sure there is some substance there before I do, I will be well served.