Quote Originally Posted by Ridge View Post
I agree with you, OP.

Seems like some members are getting strung out over all these non-issues, and take it out on people who literally do not know any better, as they joined and are being verbally assaulted over their first post...

Everybody needs to stand back, take a breathe and pop a chill pill...
Coming into this thread late and have only read the first page of 4 pages of posts so far (@ 20 posts/page).

I strongly agree with the OP and Ridge.

There is the one thread in particular where I wasn't impressed by the reactions of some of our members here; even members I have a great deal of respect for. While the OP in that thread could have easily been a "scammer"/spammer, he could just as easily have been someone VERY new to participating in/viewing online forums (as his second post stated). Because of this, I (personally) chose to err on the side of caution and treat that OP with dignity and respect - the same way *I* was treated when I joined this site.

One of the greatest things I love about this site is something that it took me MONTHS to figure out, and that is that the members of this site don't (usually) go bashing folks for stupid questions or commetns --- at least not until the stupid poster is an established member here and the bashing is all good natured ribbing.

Sure, look at my post count and the length of time I've been a member and you'd be hard pressed to realize that I waited MONTHS before posting because I was afraid (yeah, me - afraid) of showing my ignorance about AR's and the proper etiquette used in online forums. I've been active on several other forums, but the rules of etiquette on each site are different.

I've been bashed on ARFCOM for asking a legitimate question to reduce my ignorance. I've been belittled and made to feel absolutely unwelcome at many sites, but this site is supposed to be different. We have a "New Member Sign In" forum where we welcome new members with open arms, but if someone fails to post there first and they post something in another forum that seems a bit "off" to some of us we attack that person instead of offering gentle corrective advice? That's not the site I thought this place was.

I'm seeing the use of more and more profane language here too. Really? Why is that necessary? This used to be something of a family friendly site. Some of the stuff I'm seeing here would make me want to keep my wife from every viewing these pages out of sheer embarassment. Would all of you be proud to let your grandmother read what you've posted? Probably not.

Don't get me wrong, I can cuss with the best of 'em. I really tried to watch my mouth on Sunday @ the Dragonmans shoot like I watch it (mostly) here out of respect for all of you. After 20 years active duty and playing USAF cop part of that time, working with Marines, etc. I've picked up some really foul speech. I know that I'll even get a bit riske' in my posts. The real me could spew vulgarities out of my mouth enough to walk into a bar and have sailors come running out minutes later. But there is a time and a place for everything. I don't think it belongs here. Just sayin'.

So, whatdoya say? Can we try to keep from running off new and existing members and get this site back to the friendly and decent site it has always been?

Just my $0.02. Think about it a bit.