I would like to remind our members here that, from what I have gathered in my time here, the club has as a whole adopted a level of expected decorum and civil discourse. It has also been my observation that when new members join our community, they are generally welcomed and treated respectfully.
Members who have been here for a while and have made numerous posts over the years, tend to know each other to some limited degree based on the threads within which they have corresponded with each other. A new member, however, has no such reference point; and as a result, there can be a higher probability of miscommunication. Thus, the need for treating new members with respect and tolerance is even greater than the need to treat our fellow members in general with respect and tolerance.
While there have been a number of interesting comments and observations in this thread, I am concerned that perhaps from the viewpoint of a new member, who essentially doesn't know any of the members here, who has no familiarity with the personalities posting to this particular thread (and we do have a wide variety of personalities in our community!), that the tenor of this thread might appear to be a bit negative, a bit less than welcoming. Thus it would be my recommendation that perhaps before hitting the post button, we each give a little consideration to how our words might be interpreted by a new member of our community who might not be used to one's particular peculiarities with language.
Each of us here has a unique view that we can offer; and we can share our views with our friends here, and we can in turn learn from the views of these friends. And while it is certainly understandable that we may become passionate in expounding our positions, we can share our views with each other without disparaging each other. Sometimes in the heat of discourse we tend to forget that in a medium such as an internet discussion board, our words can be misinterpreted easily. It's understandable; it happens all the time. Communication can be difficult in the best of circumstances, among individuals who have known each other for years and are sitting face to face at the kitchen table. And internet communication is not the best of circumstances.
Again, my concern here is that from the view of a new member, the tenor of this thread may have come to appear less than welcoming; which I'm guessing is not anyone's intention.
I hope this post makes some kind of sense. This communication thing is kind of tough.
Thanks,
David
