The blessing of the Internet is communication via the written word. This is also its bane. Other than "emoticons" there are no other cues. With this in mind, I prefer to give the benefit of the doubt!

As far as talk sites go and Pet Talk in particular, this is the most civil site I've experienced. I have seen some sites degenerate into flame wars and troll attacks. I don't know how Karen and Paul do it, but this is a "no troll zone!"