'55 all americans

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Posted By: Jim VB

Leon,

I think you were feeling more "heat" than really existed.

In any social setting (which this board is) there are some unwritten rules. Newcomers who try to inject themselves into an existing group often fail to sense these "rules". On this board, it would be a major faux pas to intimate that Barry was a "crook", Ted didn't know anything about T cards, or that Joann was a "babe", a "broad", or a "hon". (there are lots more examples but those are just a few.) I'm not saying Marshall did ALL these things, but he did get into verbal disagreements with at least Joann and Barry.

By the same token, if a newbie said that Rob D, wonka, myself, et al, were wiseasses, they would be correct and no one would object. (Sorry Rob and John.)

MB3 tried to take the board by storm and crossed a few (OK, a lot) of those lines. He may not be a bad guy, but the personality is a little abrasive. Had he simply apologized to Joann it all would have blown over. Instead he took her suggestions as a personal attack and struck back.

But one of the problems with banning someone like that is that it deters other new members from posting. That's a bad thing. This board and this industry need new people all of the time. (We'll need somebody to sell our cards to someday!) How many times do we read "I've been lurking for years but rarely post..." That's another bad thing.

New people should never be afraid to post, as long as they keep within societal norms of decorum.