Are we elitists?

[jrd22]

I see several of the "old timers", myself included, welcome noobs to the forum so it's difficult to believe that someone didn't get any welcomes, although I'm sure that somehow it could have slipped through the cracks. What I don't understand is the attitude of "no one welcomed me so I'm leaving all the experience and knowledge that is here and going home". Just jump in and start asking questions, or answering them, and join the community. It's not a requirement to introduce yourself and I'm sure many skip it. This is a good heads up though for all of us to take a few seconds and welcome someone new instead of leaving it to "them".

[hallucination]

I very new to the forum, I did enter a "hey I'm new post" Did have a couple of welcomes. All in all I have received some very good help with several issues. There has been some minor netiquette issues but nothing that bordered on elitist.

I have solved my:

Local vetted waypoint/navigation issue: garmin BlueChart with Activecaptain(don't trust for true NAV for CARIB) but awesome for the Chesapeake.

Found out a great way to have people on board that had issues with boarding a dingy (ladder design)

Need to check my engine curve to find my best cruising RPM to match my prop.

and many others.

Me thinks that the larger issue is not noticing there is a "new user" area. I just bought my first "big boat" and have found boatloads of help here.

rbt

[bljones]

It's good to see the feedback from relatively new users here.
Welcome, all of you.

[hillenme]

I'm a new(er) member and haven't found the place unfreindly at all. I stay away from the politics/gun posts, things may get more heated in there - but for the most part I find a ton of info on archived posts and if I ask a question I haven't seen I get responses very quickly and it is always great advice - even if they just put up a link to an older post.

[CalebD]

I am one of those jerks who has been hanging around here for some time with a rather surprising post count.
I actually enjoy commenting to new users who have smaller boats or dinghies as I used to sail on such boats myself. A lot depends though on how an introductory post is phrased. If not enough information is given or the post is vague then how should I respond or should I even respond at all? Sometimes knowing when NOT to post is the better part of valor. To that end I ask the admin or OP of this thread to supply us with this initial post with the names changed or hidden - to protect the innocent.

There is also a thing called a 'bell curve' which describes a lot of things in our human world. Many of us fall under the median of the bell curve and some of us are enigmas and fall under the very thin lines at the edges. Not everyone will get the welcome mat rolled out for them and some people just cannot be satisfied, no matter how hard one tries. Without seeing the initial introductory post and how it is worded can I really comment on whether this 'community' missed out on a warm welcome or if that initial post was full of attitude or vagueness.

[Atlas]

I'm new to Sailnet myself, and I had been a bit hesitant to join at first as I don't actually own a boat, and also I'm from India, which never features very high on cruising plans of most boaters. Still, I didn't face any snobbery and was never made to feel out of place.

Did Mr XXXXX expect do be given the keys to the city and a welcome party? I can't believe anyone can be so thin skinned as to be so upset about an ignored thread as to get up and go off in a huff!

[bljones]

Originally Posted by Cruiser2B

I try to post where I can help, especially where I have had experience, if I cant I stay away and let others chime in. Others not so much, and to be quite frank are rude and obnoxious in their replies, here's a hint, their post counts are usually quite high...meaning they arent out sailing!

!

I can't speak for others here, but my post count may be higher, and my post frequency increases at this time of year, precisely because Cruiser2B is exactly right:
I am not out sailing.
But he is not right for the reason he may think.
I'm not sailing because I can't.
Here's a hint- the water is simply too hard to float a boat.

[Lake Superior Sailor]

Surprizes me as I always get on welcomes, as it's a free post! How else will I ever catch up?...Dale

[KnottyGurl]

I can say from experience there are some fantastic people here, I met a few personally and the information found here and first hand knowledge is a great resource.
Welcoming new people is always on a new posters thread some where on the first page.
Sure there are a few grumpy ol bazturds, but there every where even in the grocery store complaining they have to put a quarter in the lock to get a cart.
But if i missed ya, then Welcome to sailnet, home of the elitists, where were all just regular folk

[PorFin]

An interesting question.

I tend to ignore the Introduce Yourself threads. I've posted several welcome notes, but those have generally been in other threads when I've seen that the new poster has recently joined. I could certainly do a better job of greeting folks.

That said, I think that anyone joining a web community and expecting a welcoming committee probably has unrealistic expectations.