Howard,
I feel that your comment doesn't give a balanced view of this forum. From what I have seen, most of the time comments and critiques on the LL forum are thoughtful and sensitive. It is also true that from time to time someone makes a comment that is construed by someone else as insulting or belittling, and the reply may reflect that construction (as, I feel, was the case with the response you quoted -- without quoting the original comment that led to the response).
I once made a rather snide comment here about a certain other photography forum, and I got quickly shot down for it here on LL. Reading the responses, I realized that I had, indeed, lowered the tone of the discussion, and since that time I have tried to keep my remarks to the high level that I see most of the time on the LL forum.
-Eric