Well, when you get into this type of arguments online, there's a very good chance that at least some participants will be extremely unreasonable. In the end, I've learned to treat these discussions more as opportunities to train rhetorics and organize my thoughts on certain issues rather than trying to convince anyone. Although, I still end up getting too-engrossed in the arguments and getting disturbed by people's insane worldviews from time to time. If I didn't produce some level of distance and ability to switch from serious talk to trolling when no discussion can be done any more, I'd go insane myself by this point.
Well, that sounds like a healthy thing to do, not sociopathic at all.
Oh, I guess that was about flamewars. Right... Well, sometimes it's fun to join, as long as you're aware what you're getting into. There's still a chance to learn something and test your own convictions against people's critique, which is worth doing from time to time. If you're not completely disinterested, that is. :>