is cyberspace really different?

Couple of issues here.

The original was know where you are in cyberspace (EA). The rules of conduct are going to change somewhat from venue to venue. Conduct common here will get you censored on the Vocabula Review Forum, for example.

That notwithstanding, cyberspace is different from face to face conversation, for example, in that body language is completely missing. Some of us stubbornly resist the use of emoticons. They don't completely fill the shoes of body language anyway, since body language is largely involuntary and emoticons are anything but. Be that as it may, the possibility of misunderstanding is much greater in cyberspace than it is in real life; this must be taken into account, both from the persepctive of the giver and of the receiver.