Since I was used as an example in this thread with my ISO 858 SG post at a couple of forums I figure why not chime in on the whole BOTL difference and the fact that most sites have self appointed policemen when it comes to its members.
Yes I said it before and I will say it again I was one of the noobs that posted an ISO post before going through the correct method providing a base period to allow each site and its members the time needed to move me from the :nono: list to the
eace: list.
The way I look at it...it was a great lesson to learn, and I am glad that I went through it, because I learned alot about how the different sites handle "police" it's own and based on that I also see how they protect their own, FOG's is the term I believe? Each site did deal with it in a different way, some loud as in CF and some just chimed in like at CP and then there was how BOTL delt with it. All of the sites have a different set of standards that they police by, it may be unwritten but each does have a set of standards that are protected.
You know the funny thing is that I joined the forums looking for a community that called themselves brothers thinking that that ment they treated everyone like they were there borther, and at first I was soured by the negitive response I received at a couple of the sites and then shocked at how helpfull and willing to help other members of different sites were. What I have concluded was that my initial expectations were incorrect but not really....you see each site does have that brother aspect to them, it is shown in the same way that my sons protect their sister, who is 18 and the baby in the house. They provide a protection service from the outside ensuring that their brotheror sister is not taken advantage of by a new face or an unproven member. I do not see that as a bad thing, even though it happend to me, because it allowed me to see how strongly each membership base is at each site and how strongly they fell towards each other.
Since my ISO post at CF I entered into a "Blind Trade" with a member that had been an accepted part of the forum there for 1 year. It was his was to give back to the forum and try to take on a newbie and share his insights that he has learned with a noob like myself. This person following our trade took the time to sit down and write me a very long email that gave me some very valuable advice on many subjects and even shared some tough lessons that he himself had learned while a noob at CF.
I can't tell you how good that made me feel about the community as a whole and about the members at CF. It showed me that in fact the community that I was looking for at BOTL and CF or CP, in fact does exisit, it is what I thought is was....only better!
eyetek
