To the OP, personally, I think that the tone here, and the civility with which most people involved in the heavy discussions conduct themselves is a step above most other community contact points. Most of the people who engage in the serous or heavy discussions here are, for the most part, entirely civil to one another, more or less respectful of disagreements, and generally all understand that we're all here because we want the game to be the best game it can be - while also understanding that a large part of our job as play-testers is precisely to give feedback - often strongly negative feedback - on the things that we find most desperately in need of review.
None of the other community contact points (that are actually doing this work, as opposed to fan-art sharing boards etc.) are anywhere near as calm and polite to one another as this place is, and I know that I for one try very hard to maintain that wherever I post.
