Why do you let it bother you so much? This is just a public forum - one of thousands on the web. And if it is so bothersome to you why do you continue to log on? You have a choice here - you can participat in one of the social activites and meet these people in person (who knows - you might even like them), you can forget QL exist and fill your time with something else, log in and read the comments and accept it for the entertainment that it is, or you can continue to allow your anger to make you unhappy. Life is way too short to be bothered by such trivial stuff and if you are honest with yourself you will admit it doesn't matter one lick what people on this site think or say anyway. Their opinion and comments do not change your life in any way so let it go.

For what it's worth I think the majority of regular contributors on this site do not set out to offend with their comments and are truly suprised when something they write brings out such strong and negative feedback and while I know a few of them I am definitely not a part of the gang.

For me I hesitate, on occasion, to contribute - not because I think the "regulars" will verbally beat me bloody but because the "others" will take offense at something I unwittingly said and I don't have the time or energy to defend or explain it. Especially when QL history shows at that point I cannot say anything that will explain or defend it to the satisfaction of the offended party anyway.