In respect to sailing message boards, SA is rough around the edges, hard to get along, frat-initiation-style mentality. If you want to join, do yourself a favor and not stand out for the first 100 posts or so. That means don't make your own topics, don't pick e-fights with established and well liked members, and generally just add your two cents to existing threads in intelligible or funny ways. After 100 or so posts, go ahead and be an butt.

However, in relation to OTHER internet forums, SA is full of relative carebears. You can get MUCH worse said about/to you on other boards that are *much* less politically correct.