Assertiveness and personal boundary setting

Well, yes, I agree that is all true.  In the time since I've gotten my surgery date, I've spent a good amount of energy working on changing my response to boredom, lonliness, stress, and anger.  My point is that I choose to focus my energy on dealing with situations that present themselves in my non-internet message board life. 

YMMV of course, and if you find that engaging in these threads of howling controversy and dispute, and with the posters who are also usually found in them, is somehow empowering and helpful, then I am glad you have found what works for you.

This is the internet, take it for what it is, some are real, so are outright frauds, hang here long enough and you will know who is who.  I try to be as real as I can be, but sometimes we delude even ourselves as to who we are especially online.  Its so easy to assume one thing about a person from reading their words and find out its totally not true.

Enjoy your assertiveness training, personally I block anyone who annoys me in the slightest way and hope that they do the same for me, its saves me time that way.