.... trying to overcome a situation like this should not be done by analyzing and answering each individual phrase of an email > exchange....
+1
We must not forget that the asynchronous written communication we're using here is known to express only a small part of one's actual feelings (some say 5% only).
AND for many of us english is a second or third language, which doesn't help.
AND sometimes we're trying to be funny, which is even more risky due to cultural differences (But hey, at times we succeed so it's worth it IMHO ;-) )
So I think we must all switch all kinds of mental filters on when reading what's happening here.
My 2 cents. -Bertrand
