Well said, but people probably articulate themselves better in person. The veil of anonymity can bring out the worst in people, or at the very least, attract the worst sorts of people. Some things, if said to another person's face, would result in a swift fist in their eye. So in person, people probably try to actually make their case reasonably intelligently, but you can't expect too much from everybody.
My personal take is this: whatever I say online, I would be comfortable saying to the average stranger. And sometimes do. And no one's hit me across the side of the head with a U-Lock yet so I must be doing something right.
It is my personal hope that someday, the term 'fanboys' and 'fangirls' will bring images of people dressed up as anime characters to people's heads, rather than the current picture which is more along the lines of dyslexic ten years olds with personality disorders. No offense to anybody out there with dyslexia.
