It's interesting that so many of you pick out literacy. While being literate doesn't need to mean being civil, a certain level of attention to what you're writing does tend to weed out the most spontaneous outbursts. I regularly read a Norwegian mixed bike forum, and many people there are really extraordinarily literate, thoughtful and insightful. BUT there's also a liberal helping of the standard muckslinging trolls, and you really don't need very many of those posts to wreck an otherwise good discussion, especially if the subject is a little personal or sensitive. The trust we show each other here is IMO rooted in the overwhelming amount of friendly civility we show each other on a day-to-day basis. I think that is partly due to being women, not that men aren't civil, but that we seem to almostly completely lack those yahoo-types who pop by just to make trouble.

We're really boring, in other words.