I know this question is, like, a year old, but I felt like responding anyway.
Compared to other parenting message boards I have been a member of, I find Parenting MUCH more laid-back and accepting of others viewpoints. Every "mommy board" I've ever been on I've ultimately wound up leaving because of the backbiting, name-calling, and down-right hatefulness that seems to inevitably permeate the group. Granted that most of these boards are initially comprised of pregnant women, but once the babies are born the arguments begin about breastfeeding vs. formula feeding/vaccinating vs. not vaccinating/co-sleeping vs. not co-sleeping etc., etc. All arguments seem to devolve into an attempt for everyone involved to try to prove what a good mother they are, and what is supposed to be a support group to help new moms (or old ones for that matter) breeds only more dissension.
Reading the comments to questions posted here is more like talking to my husband about something. I enjoy getting the male perspective on some parenting topics (something frequently missing from other parenting boards), I appreciate the ability of the majority of the posters to respect that other people have differing opinions from their own, and the emphasis placed on supporting one's answer with outside resources. It's not that women are incapable of doing these things, but perhaps women who are immediately postpartum find it slightly more difficult. This also doesn't mean that every woman who joins those type of message boards has my experience, but I can tell you that I've used three different boards at three different times and had the same experience at all three.
Having said that, there are some aspects of the mommy boards that I do miss sometimes--primarily the chatty nature of the boards themselves, and the freedom to share with others. I would never find a post on here from a parent whose child was just diagnosed with cancer unless it was to ask a specific question, whereas on other parenting boards you might find a post (or many) that says, "My son was diagnosed with xxx cancer and I just really need some support right now", for example. I do not, however, view the lack of warm-fuzzies as a negative, personally. It is more important to me, at this point in my parenting life, to have a community that doesn't attack people for their opinions/beliefs than it is to have one to act as a support group.