[tracker1]

There's a huge difference between, "I'm not sure I understand where you are coming from." and "You are a god damned idiot, what the hell are you thinking." ... I have to admit, I've thought the latter on more than one occasion having to fix a bug, or do a feature enhancement in a piece of software. I try to be more sensitive in my actual interactions though.

You can review, advise and even critique without being outright abusive. I tend to take similar arguments when people want to use curse word filters... tone is a hell of a lot more than specific verbiage.

[malandrew]

   There's a huge difference between, "I'm not sure I 
   understand where you are coming from." and "You are a god     
   damned idiot, what the hell are you thinking."

True, but I don't see how this is a gender issue, but an issue with how specific individuals handle competitive and potentially abrasive environments. Women are as capable of handling competitive and abrasive environments as men and I've met plenty of men that can't handle competitive or abrasive environments and end up opting out.