I would like AudiogoN to be the place that you describe, Ezekiel. It would simply great - friendly people, knowledgable, fun to deal with, etc, etc.
Reality is that it just isn't going to happen!! It's just the way we human beings behave towards each other (particularly in the West) when a lot of us get together in 1 place. Sort of like living in a big city (NYC or Chicago or LA or SF or Boston). People in these big cities couldn't care less & like some of my friends say "people won't even piss on you if you are on fire!" The Orient (as far as the USA is concerned) is generally far more people-friendly & tolerant but with the globalization of economies, I'm sorry to say that, it is changing for the worse.
The larger AudiogoN becomes, the more distant people get as there is a bigger probability that one could be wronged in a transaction.
To AudiogoN's credit, there are some very, very nice people who still frequent this place for both discussions & sales. I've had the privilege to deal with them & my many thanks to them for those smooth transactions.
Anyway, what this means to all of us is that we have to communicate more & figure out for ourselves if we want to deal with that buyer or seller. IOW, we'll have to adapt our techniques for a growing, far-flung AudiogoN. Nature of the beast, I'm afraid.
I wish that I could eat my above words & hope for an improvement of the situation!
FWIW. IMHO. YMMV.