Yeah

No, my initial intent was not really to join in the MiSTings, but rather to simply be here.

I understand that if the majority of the group says I've crossed the line, I've most likely crossed it. Still, that doesn't help when people direct me to the warning at the top of the forum and then add in their own additional meanings to it and treating it like it's plainly obvious when it isn't.

As for my suggestion, it's a reasonable one, which would require little effort to enact and would resolve a lot of accountability issues. Had there been a FAQ in place that I had not read, telling me in advance that my sorts of posts above would not be welcome here, I would accept full responsibility, apologize, and move on. However, no such warning existed, and this whole mess occurred. In the spirit of making amends, I am offering a suggestion of how to ensure this sort of thing does not keep happening, or that if it does happen, the blame is entirely on the newbie who didn't read the FAQ or some sort of document that lays out the generally accepted rules of the forums.

I don't have to have been here a while to make suggestions though. I've maintained forums of my own for some time, and posted in several others, ranging from high traffic boards with thousands of posts a day to boards with barely over twenty posts a month. A clear statement of forum policy seriously reduces newbie problems before they happen. Now you can dismiss my suggestion as just that of a stupid newb, or you can look at it on its own merits. You and others have now stated repeatedly that you've had lots of problems with newbies, so I'm offering you a solution. What does how long I've stayed here have anything to do with that?