I’ve never been tempted to troll, but as for your last sentiment: Nope, you’re not alone in that. Though often in my case it’s simply because I’d like to see the thread keep going, and for some reason they seem to die after I post in them. Too bad the username Threadkiller is already taken …
Oh hush - you’re just jealous because I beat you to it!
Grammar.
::d&r:: 
[Dennis]
Oh! Come and see the violence inherent in the system! Help! Help! I’m being repressed!
[/Dennis]
Darn it, darn it, darn it. I did that same thing the other day and someone corrected me on it and I thought I had learned. Shit. Thanks jjimm for the correction. I will write the word grammar, grammar, grammar, grammar, grammar, grammar, over and over until I get it right. Good grief I need to go back to school.
I never lurked here, but I’d been reading the Straight Dope for years online and finally decided to see what that Threadspotting link was…
I’m still a newbie and apparently I will be a newbie for a very long time. At first I was interested in upping my post count to make it look like I knew what I was doing and/or talking about, but not long thereafter I figured out that it doesn’t really matter how many times you’ve posted to be “one with the boards”. I also figured out that I don’t have to be popular to speak and sound intelligent, but if I sound stupid, I will just be largely ignored. And that’s the way it should be.
So I have become content to stay in IMHO for the time being, talking from a corner, with big innocent eyes, and trying my best to be diplomatic and innovative at the same time. I’m a newbie, that’s my job.
I think all generalizations are wrong – excluding this one of course.
In the context of this board that means newbies’ experiences will vary as wildly as their own personalities and expectations. Someone rather shy might take the lurk-long-time-dip-toe-in-water approach while someone on the brash side may just dive in rather recklessly. Obviously, those two posters are going to have different memories of their newbie experience on the SDMB.
Beyond that, I think it is also hard to deny that the more confrontational posters – The Rev being just the last of that breed – will be met by a core resistance group of old timers who make it their business to defend “their turf.” Not exactly a hazing, but it is also quite obvious that said old timers do not like being made to look foolish in their home ground. I think that is where the newbie needs to make a choice. And that is whether they are willing to put down their weapons for a bit and live to fight another day, or if it’s more important to die fighting for whatever principle they are upholding at the time.
I should also note that the above is also an oversimplification, because in many of those cases I have also seen old timers come in defense of the newbies if they felt the case had enough merit – IOW, that the newbie wasn’t being a total jerk.
And yes, occassionally you’ll also see unwarranted pile-ons and (gasp!) unmerited bans. At least in your POV. But then again, those are the times when you need to weigh the reasons you’re here to begin with. If you think the bad outweighs the good…well, no sense in asking for a refund on your way out.
Plenty of other saloons on the Internet.
My own experience? Neither good nor bad but exactly the opposite. Which was fine by me.
Chew on that for a while
I have to say that I think the SDMB crew is a little too harsh on newbies. As you can see from my info I have been a member for almost 2 years, and I did quite a bit of lurking before I even registered. My first mistake was even reading the pit. Some topic caught my eye and I couldn’t resist posting.
Couple the pit with a post count of 1, and you have a recipe for disaster! While I believe that most people are generally good people, there are quite a few that absolutely can not wait to correct perceived mistakes or to point out other’s shortcomings. Of course this is something that holds true in the real world as well… so perhaps I’m just rambling.
Ok I need flamed for this post 
Actually, my very first post here was in the pit, and people welcomed me very warmly.
My pet peeve is newbies who come in and subject us to their non-stop navel gazing.
But you’re right though, as long as you come in and behave yourself, no one is unnecessarily cruel to you.
When I first started posting, I just threw in white bread “some kinda weather we’re having” posts until my count got into the triple digits. Then I started putting more of an edge to my posts. Now my bread has spots of wheat in it, and I’ve been known to say “Damn this weather sucks” on occasion.