I have a simple guideline for real life interactions with others that carries over quite well on-line, "Deal with issues; ignore details."<p>It's amazing how well this works in person, especially when trying to get something done.  My number one question to another is probably, "Is that an issue or a detail?"  We can almost always decide together which it is.  Then, if it's an issue, we deal with it, and if it's a detail, we move on to the next issue.<p>This has also saved me countless hours and aggravation on-line.  If I post something and someone disagrees, I quickly decide whether or not it's really an issue and only engage the other if it is.  I realize that this is just a judgment call, but I'd estimate about 90% of on-line disagreements are just details.  In these cases, I think it's best to simply move on.