Yes, but it's also because we haven't been stupid about it. To be civil when others disagree is not something one sees often on the internet. It's a tribute to the kind of people who are on here.
Given that (to my knowledge) we currently have no real moderation (I "think" Shawn is gone but have no idea what the official date was), you have no idea just how true this statement is.
I've mentioned this before, but the previous forum in which I spent most of my time, we had a get-together once, and 20 guys from all over the country spent the whole weekend jamming and socializing. People who had known each other online for a few years met in person. The after effects of that were what appeared at the time to have been the development of lifelong friendships. Guys so happy to meet in person they were hugging each other when they met, spent a whole weekend of bonding and became so close that it was very common in the threads to here guys mentioning regular (weekly or more!) phone calls to each other, etc. Guys even having other forum members to stay in their homes for a few days, a couple even vacationed together.... sounds a lot like some people here.
Within 3 years after that event, the forum had only 5-6 active participants. The constant bashing and insulting of peoples political and religious beliefs had completely destroyed a "group of friends." Many people hung on for months and even a couple years, TRYING to talk about gear/music/guitars/amps/pedals, etc. But it's hard to talk to a guy about amps then bounce into the politics and religion threads (yes, they had them) and see that guy basically calling you a moron because you believe something he doesn't. Constantly insulting people and making comments more and more personal. It started out mild, and within 2 years got VERY bad.
The end result is that there are very few members of the forum who even speak to each other, and most of the ones who do are only very casual friends now. I still talk to a couple of them a few times a year but as an example, I sent several messages to one guy that I got along great with, over a couple year period and got no replies at all. When I sent him a happy birthday notice on Linked In one year and said that I just wanted to keep the streak alive, he apologized and said he got so sick of that whole thing he literally blocked emails from every member of the forum, even the ones he liked, just so he could put the whole thing behind him.
If this conversation happened there, and near the end, it would have had people offering to fly 1000 miles to meet the person and daring them to say in person what they just said online. It really got that bad. It IS a testament to the people here that this thread, and several others, have not become bashfests. Big Mike is a member here. For years he was a mod at the biggest musicians forum on the webs. You can ask him. There is a reason people don't allow politics and religion discussions in forums, and that forum I mentioned above is a perfect example of the results. Whatever this thread is, would also fall in that category, of one that would be shut down quickly in most forums, but has actually remained relatively civil in this one. We all deserve a pat on the back for that.
And on that note, I finally have something of real value to add to the thread. This constant spinning of the globe at almost 1000 mph finally explains why I've been dizzy for the last 60 years. All this time, I thought it was the drugs.