I learned that everybody's different, that there's no magic solution for doing any one thing. I learned that most stories and opinions have more than one side to them, and that there isn't necessarily always a right side.

I learned that it's important to learn how to speak civilly and clearly - even if you're like me and enjoy being mad at people, there's a time and place for it, and it's rarely when you're talking to people online.

I learned that the absolutely most thrilling feeling in the world is making stuff, and that the second-most is talking to somebody that has. I remember, early on, saying something dismissive about Delicious and having one of the programmers respond directly to me. I love meeting the people behind things. I still get a thrill when I get into a conversation with somebody who's built a web site or runs a blog.

I think that's also what I learned, which goes with what you said: I learned that the thing I value most in others is what they build and how passionate they are about building it. That's a really useful thing to learn about yourself, and to some degree about others.