Lil, your last post hits upon most of my thoughts while reading this. You can have rules, guides, instructions, a detailed map of how Pixies operates, but there is nothing to force anyone to read it. C'mon how often does everyone read through a "user agreement" before clicking the check box at the bottom? Maybe everyone is more attentive than I am, but I surely don't consistently take the time to read all guidelines on a website.

As someone who has recently said that I often still feel like a newbie, I don't think that is anything that can be changed by the mod team or membership. I've been around for a year, not posted a ton, but pop in daily and read through the threads. Often I don't voice a comment to each thread I read for a multitude of reasons. The fact that I have a bit of a newbie feel doesn't make me feel uncomfortable, afterall, as I said, I pop in daily to read the threads, if I was uncomfortable I wouldn't return. Part of the beauty of humanity is that we are all different. I would encourage newbies to be reasonable - while this may be an escape from reality, it isn't so far removed from reality to not have a human touch. As such, human touch that is felt face to face is likely to be the same here. I don't expect to become instamatic soulmates with the person I brush shoulders with at WalMart, so it's unrealistic for me to expect that here. Unfortunately, as there is beauty in difference, some difference isn't so beautiful as some people simply have unrealistic expectations. And as Lixy said, everyone can't embrace everyone all the time.

Honestly, I really don't think there is anything additional that can be done to be a more embracing forum for newbies. I presume, that when someone is a bit out of touch, someone takes the opportunity to PM that person and try to give them guidance, but it is up to the individual to accept the guidance being offered.

In summary, I feel everyone does their best to create an open and welcoming environment, but there is no point in trying to please 100% of the people 100% of the time. If nothing else, maybe this thread serves as an effective reminder of what Pixies is all about and can cause reflection upon our behaviors and individual changes put into place where necessary.