I find these observations interesting, because there are patterns to communication, and in this case we have a new form of written communication which can be indulged in by geographically seperated people.

I've noticed, not so much on Mudcat, where we tend towards an older crowd, but on other large boards, there can be interactions between older and very young people that aren't really likely in real life. For example, on a very large religious forum I visit, you can see seventeen year old creationists arguing fiercely with fifty year old geologists about the nature of the Grand Canyon.