Although I lurk, more than post, I would say this is the most "fan-on-fan" violence I've seen on here in a long time. Like RJ said, part of it is due to internet annonymity, but we've also got more "johnny-come-lately" posters who come in, drop their two-cents, insult a few people and leave for a week or more.
I think the place has dumbed down a bit, but I also think more posters have an "edge" to them that defies explanation.