Also, the Web. One of the main reasons Xanadu's in development hell is how it tries to handle broken links. On the Web, the browsers just throw up a 404 error. This is unacceptable for Ted Nelson.
The topic that inspires the most vitriol by far is anything to do with Israel or Palestine. The comments on any YouTube video or nasty even by YouTube comment standards.
Some advice from an old journalism professor of mine: no matter what anyone else says or does, just smile and says "Thanks for letting me know how you feel!" It's a difficult person disarming tactic.
I think every programming language has a preferred way of doing things. Every profession also has a preferred way of doing things. For example, as a professional writer, I can site the AP Stylebook, Strunk & White, the Chicago Manual of Style.
Work doesn't happen in a vacuum, and when you're dealing with other people, some kind of standard is necessary, even if it does seem a little annoying at times.
This is exactly the kind of site I've been looking for as a freelance writer. A place like Mechanical Turk that lets me do short tasks, but actually pays something.