So you are saying that if someone is nice and respectful face to face, and mentally ill back stabber and scum of the earth when you turn your back, that nice side of him is what he really is? What I have learn in my life, it is always another way around. Maybe things are different in USA, but here we appreciate people by what they are, not what they pretend to be.
Just so you know, I do not condone this behavior, however a lot of folks have alter-egos. In person they don't have the courage that hiding behind the Internet allows them. A good comparison is when some people drink a little to much their personalities morph into something else, usually not something better either.
For example, if I wanted to be a tough guy, but didn't have the gumption to pull that off in person, I might be able to do it by creating an Internet alter-ego that was maybe the exact opposite of who I was in real life. In my case though, I am what I am, which is the same in person as I am on the Internet. However, I suspect I am something of an exception.
I think it is absolutely conceivable that Derek is a great guy in real life and sometimes a complete asshole when he is posting on the Internet. Honestly if he were the same guy to his family and friends as the guy he sometimes is on Getbig, there would be almost no one there pulling for his recovery. It is not like he is some kind of cash cow....maybe the opposite. On other hand, he could be a complete sociopath and has fooled his family into thinking he is actually a nice fellow. Truth is, none of us really know him and so we make judgments based on his Internet persona, which could be way off or not.