Yes. And you can't fix those as an IC, so you just have to work around them. This is like complaining about the direction of the company and advising to fix the root cause of whatever corporate drama - not wrong, just not helpful or practical advice.
> why should it be any different in person aside from the fact they're performing for management.
There's many reasons why in-person is more effective:
- Fewer distractions
- More emotional investment in the discussion (the same dynamic where people are more polite in person, but less so on internet forums)
- More "skin in the game" by making more of an effort to show up
