[hawkharris]

When I'm deciding if an online comment is civil and productive, I tend to ask the question, Would the commenter be willing to say this the same way in real life?

Plenty of people use the Internet's cloak of anonymity to say things that are inconsiderate. I use this simple test to determine if they would stand behind their remarks if accountability were in play and anonymity were not a factor.

I think it's well understood that "fuck you" is considered an offensive term in the context of a disagreement between two strangers. My morning commute has illustrated this point on a few occasions. :)

[true_religion]

In real life you can frown to communicate your extreme disapproval. You can grit your teeth, kick the dirt, squeeze your fists, and do all sorts of non-verbal gyrations before having to spit out a simple 'fuck you' in order to communicate.

This isn't 'real life'. This is text-based communication.