I am neither long term nor newbie anymore, however I was never scared off. This is survival of the fittest. If someone is so weak to be scared off then Bye Felicia, as they said in "Friday"
I do think some of the regulars have been unduly harsh on so-called "newbies". I know a number of people who have been put off too by the hate and rather extreme rhetoric of some of the political discussions on here.
Hello M2C I was replying to your comment to Tom Jackson about members following the rules of respect, to which I honestly see very little of. I do not find it to be respectful when instead of debate, we, as Trump supporters are basically just called names and essentially told to " get out of the kitchen"... I refuse to even attempt debate on this site anymore because of the lack of civility and the constant, "I am so much smarter than you because I think one way and if you don't agree you are worthless"...
I used to think I could take it but more and more - I don't recall things here or anywhere else becoming as bad as they have more recently - I just don't know if I have a thick skin. I can't spend time on here without feeling discouraged or ending in tears. Its like everything I have always held dear gets trashed and discarded.