I don't think it's necessarily meaness. It's frustration, a type of frustration that feels like it's private, and hence can sound more vitriolic, even though it

I don't think it's necessarily meaness. It's frustration, a type of frustration that feels like it's private, and hence can sound more vitriolic, even though it's not because we are all removed from each other via the computer. I find it best to "kill them with kindness" ignoring such anger and just assume they are having a bad day and didn't truly consider what they said.