I think that one of the reasons people take offense to a reply is because they read into it something that was not meant as some posts can be a bit ambiguous in that regard. I once posted that a previous poster had been very nice to a person who had posted a question that begged for a smart a$$e answer, I got a lot of flack from people who thought I was being the nasty to the person I was complementing.

We have to admit that a joke to some is an insult to another, especially when we have different cultures involved. So far I have been lucky, someone only threatened to shoot me.

PS. I hope none of you take this post the wrong way.