[Dottie]

I have seen both ways being practiced online. For example the interaction here at SYM or in other more closed enviroments the level of sensitivness is imo rather close to society in general. In other more open places you can see behaviour that is rarely seen in real life, that is if you exlude bullying situations etc.

Anyway, what I think matters in regards of sensitivity, both in real life and online is dependant on how much the group in question mean to you, how much time and energy you have invested in it and the social consequences of being rude etc. Most public forums require less effort than an RL relation to become a part of, the worst thing that can happen is that you get banned, and it is quite easy to find other public forums, so perhaps that is the reason why you see less sensitivity there?