As a whole, the Escapist community is pretty rad. I wouldn't have hung around for as long as I have if I didn't like this place.
People tend to be more civil and thoughtful with their posts here compared to other gaming forums. That might be due to the forum rules weeding out the more...contentious folk out there. I particularly like how you can't just quote someone, type "this" and be done with it. If that's all you were going to post, then why bother in the first place?
The community's not perfect, though. For one thing, this forum tends to attract a higher degree of elitists, "militant atheists," and "LOL 'MERICA" types. Also, I tend to avoid "hot button" threads (feminism, politics, religion, rape jokes, the "friend zone," etc.), as they quickly spiral out of control into fifty-page megathreads with the same few people going back and forth ad infinitum.
Also, I think the Escapist's news coverage warrants some revamping. News articles here are filled with "yellow journalism" tactics, from sensationalist headlines to staff writers weighing in with their opinions in what should be objective journalism. Save it for the editorials, please.
Finally, I had an ugly incident a few years ago with one of the news staff. I won't name the person in question out of politeness (and fear of possible reprisal), but when I tried to issue some constructive criticism on a news article, the author rebuffed me by making a joke at my expense. When I politely tried to convey my feelings on the matter in a PM, I was only met with more teasing. Frankly, it was rude and unprofessional given the person's status on the site. That was the only really negative experience I've had here though, besides the occasional user out to cause trouble. They usually get banned within a few weeks, though.