Being human, I have flaws. One of them is that I, as a rule, am nearly compulsively helpful. (Mary-Sue hunters will tell you that's "not a real flaw"; I challenge them to say that to my husband's/boyfriend's face.) If I see someone complaining about a problem that has a readily available solution, I'll probably let them know about that solution. Sometimes they appreciate it. Sometimes they don't even acknowledge it. Sometimes I'm met with hostility.

Okay, cool, sometimes you just want to blow off steam in a public forum and don't want other people's input. I personally think biting someone's left ear off over it is a bit much, but I'm not going to give them too much of a hard time over it.

Here's the thing, though: I really don't have an ulterior motive. I'm genuinely trying to be nice. To me, nice does not ride on affiliations or cliques. I'll hold the door open for you if you're coming through behind me regardless of who you are. I'll stop when you're waiting at the crosswalk. I'll slow down to let you merge into traffic ahead of me. I won't swear or jaywalk in front of your children. (I may slip up on the swearing, but not intentionally, and not often.) I'm trying to live up to my ideal of what humanity should be like, and part of that is being considerate of others.

You don't have to like someone to be nice. And you don't have to like them to say "thank you". If you have problems accepting a kind gesture from me because of who I am, and/or what you believe I stand for, the problem is with you, not me.