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I'm sorry, but just because someone's new doesn't mean that they're right. Honestly, I find disagreement much more interesting than agreement. It's how I adjust my own opinions with new information and with new approaches to the same old information.
I find it difficult to accurately convey my true emotions in print. I've had numerous interactions where the other person thinks I'm "short" or "pissy" or "aggressive" or "being an asshole" when I'm aiming for the opposite. I've also dabbled in enough online communities to know that a new person that makes a statement and then listens to dissent and replies rationally is a needle in a haystack. Honestly, I can't remember the last time that I saw a TFP member fire away a newbie. I've seen them ignored, but that's usually because they aren't adding anything to the conversation. That's hard for us to fix, to be honest.
I'd love to have more new folks show up and make statements that I don't agree with. I joined TFP in the first place to use it as a sounding board for my own beliefs. You can't do that in an echo chamber. That's why TFP Politics is such a shame, to be honest - too many liberals, not enough conservatives, no moderates at all.
Vodka, I try to make a point to greet every newbie whenever I see one. I'm not perfect, so I miss some here and there. We do as much as we can to encourage folks to interact, but I don't know what much else we can do.
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"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - B. Franklin
"There ought to be limits to freedom." - George W. Bush
"We have met the enemy and he is us." - Pogo
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