Anthony,
First, you should have referred to the people you spoke to at the picnic as the managers and their spouses, not just the managers and their wives. Do you know for certain there are no women in management?
I would suggest that if you don’t know of any other way of speaking that you take a workshop in online tone and communication. This would give you a lot of good ideas on how to phrase your speech when communicating online.
Referring to upper management as the “good ol boys” is totally a sexist remark. They should have been referred to as the people in upper management. You also implied that only men should brush up on their etiquette to get a raise. You should have said that you would recommend to anyone who wanted a raise to brush up.
In future postings, you should not address people as only men, since there are so many men and women in the workforce now. Now days in face to face communication, I don’t think you could just “laugh off” your mistake. Your grammar and writing skills are most important now whether it is a face to face conversation or an online chat.
Three good rules to follow when posting in the online discussions are:
1. Proof read your writing before you post it. Read it to yourself out loud and see how it sounds when you hear your words.
2. Remember that the people you are talking to are from all backgrounds and walks of life and are male and female.
3. Remember that all managers, supervisors, presidents and CEO’s are not all men and should not be referred to as such.
One good thing about the online discussions are that here you will definitely get feedback about your conversation skills. As long as you keep in mind that this is constructive criticism it can only help you in future posts.