I'm going to depart from my typically diplomatic style for a moment and interject here at the risk of getting my hairy Wookie ass chafed by some of the new folk. Look folks, here's the deal. We're all here for one of two reasons. Either a.) you have a medical need of some sort that necessitates pharmaceutical intervention and you're looking for solid information on sources for that which you need in hopes of leading a relatively normal existence without getting constantly ripped off by con artists or b.) you're here to shill for a vendor or flame against one. Well, I suppose there is an option c, whereby you're here for support in your efforts to stop the pharmaceutical intervention referenced in scenario a.
So, with that in mind, even if you don't like a particular person's personality and / or style, that doesn't mean that they don't know what they're talking about. Conversely, just because you're new doesn't mean you don't either. However, you have to use logic and common sense and understand that this is an online forum. There is no body language to read, no eye contact to be made, none of the verbal or non-verbal visual cues we use in everyday life to get a read on a situation and determine credibility. Here, all we have is one's track record of participation and quality of information provided. Whether you like Shattered or not, it doesn't change the fact that he's helped a lot of people and provided strong, straight forward, timely facts and unabashed experienced opinions for our member's benefit, myself included. Post count in and of itself doesn't mean anything, which Shattered mentioned. That said, the fact is that no one wastes their time around here making 200, 300 or more posts of porn links and "duck face" pictures like teenagers on Facebook. Sure, we all post humor and jokes and whatnot to engage each other and build rapport and relationships, but those are done in our free time between meaningful posts of our own experiences, personal research and takes on the situations others present for feedback. The moral of the story is that in the broader context of the forum, post count and "likes", etc. are meaningful, and exist for a reason. Not only are they meaningful, they are of critical importance, as we essentially have no other means to establish credibility.
Given the above, and knowing just how much time it takes to provide consistent, meaningful contributions to a forum such as this, I'm of the belief that those who invest this much time, effort and personal passion have earned a measure of respect from all members, myself included. To cite a fictitious example, let's say that I happened to really disagree with something YoungHypnotic is posting. (very hard to imagine, but let's go with it) At 800+ posts and climbing, and having been an admin, he's proven his dedication and credibility, and who in the hell would I be to insult, demean or flame him over his opinion? I'm nobody in comparison. At the bottom of the home page, you'll see a "Overall Top Posters" link. This isn't there for decoration. It provides important information on the status of our community members. I'm not implying that this is a rigid caste system that should be policed on raw post count numbers or tenure of membership, but at the same time, the same simple rules of etiquette should apply here those that we should have been taught earlier in life. Look around you, take notice of who's there, who the leaders are, etc, and respect their contribution to a cause that you are here to personally benefit from. If you happen to not like their style or personality, then you can either state your opinion civilly and professionally or simply say nothing. That was my approach when I had 2 posts, and still is at 200 posts.
At the end of the day, and as O'Connell said himself in a recent post, "all we (new members) want is information". That's fine, and that's why the handful of very active members invest the time they do. To provide you with information. Take that information, use it and benefit from it. That's why it's there, but have the class to not mock and flame our advanced contributing membership when you've just dropped by for a little "what what" on an IOP hookup. Do some of our senior members assertively challenge and test newer posting members? Sure, and well they should. Don't think for one second that every acronym in the federal government wouldn't like to see this and every site like it gone, and yesterday. Every strong community needs gate keepers, and SS and others are ours. If you're challenged or called out on something that concerns one of our senior members, then rebut with a solid, well thought out counter argument, make your point and move on. That's all SS has been saying all along. If I'm wrong, tell me why I'm wrong and back it up with facts. We care about this community, and strive to protect it, and I'd hope that anyone who's here could understand that and respect it. Play by these rules of engagement, and you not only will have no problems with anyone here, particularly SS, but you'll be embraced and have the chance to build some quality relationships with some great people.
I'm sure that in this rather lengthy speech, I've probably missed a few points I intended to make along the way, and have not cogently resolved all of my talking points as I should, so I reserve the right to add those in subsequent posts for anyone grading my paper at home. Bottom line newcomers, this is our house, and we welcome you. The guard dog has a nasty set of teeth and isn't afraid to use them, but play nice and earn respect as you would when first arriving in any new community, and in short order our house will be your house.
And now, back to your regular programming...
Jewy
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iamgroot:
replied you already
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Diz-E:
@ I am Groot--I emailed ya bro, Diz-E
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SeaDonkey:
@LatsDoodis by tonight I meant like 16 hours from now, so you still have a chance!
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LatsDoodis:
@SeaDonkey ooh, I just got home, too, but Iit was raining here all of a sudden! How was it?
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xenxra:
what the fudge
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hiTillidie:
Just yankin your lobe jason...once paid you should have privleges.