I just want to add a few things. I do a lot of non-face-to-face communication on a daily basis due to the nature of my job. Successful communication is more than the transmission of information, it involves alignment - emotional,physical and informational, establishing rapport, making sure the person actually understands what you're saying. This is accomplished through multiple means in face-to-face communication: eye contact, facial expressions, tone, pitch, inflections, speed, volume, breathing, hand gestures. All these cues are missing when communicating via forum, IM, text, e-mail, making successful communication difficult and leading to confusion. The simplest and most innocent phrase can make you sound like a complete jackass. Just be mindful and understand that lacking context your words can be interpreted differently than intended. Use smiley faces and extra words to make up for the missing non-verbal cues and avoid mis-understandings
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