I have also noticed a growing trend towards general impatience and outright rudeness by some posters on FT, some of which are new, some of which are "old school" and act as if this is a private country club for their little cliques. I'm not talking about some of the humorous sarcasm (which I happen to love...but I'm a bit twisted, so...), I mean the direct, personal blasts that serve absolutely no other purpose than to bully and belittle.

Some longer term members have either left FT completely or severely curbed their once highly contributory and often amusing posts due to this problem, and they've let it be known that the personal attacks and rumour mongering are why they left. This really bothers me, as I hope it does others. I would hope that a post such as this can call attention to the fact that this "rude and curtness" problem not only exists, but, IMHO as well, is on the rise. There has to be a more constructive way to voice an opinion that is contrary without blasting that other person outright.

I'm sure we've all noticed that FT membership is growing rapidly and attracting a lot of new folks; many of these, if "cultivated" and helped by some of the more experienced posters here, will grow to become contributors that just may help out some of the "old timers" someday. A gentle urging to do searches and the providing of links to helpful "primers" instead of blasting new people for asking repetitive questions will not only assist the "newbies", but encourage them to continue to do their own homework en route to becoming "veterans". After all, we all had our first posts, and many of us got our elite status partially or directly as a result of the assistance from FT'ers. I know I did.

Hey, I like this place, and I know I've taken a few shots at trolls that were less than kind, so I'm not going to pretend to sit here on the perfect perch with an angelic veil. I'm just agreeing that it's maybe time to recognize this and curb it before things get any worse. Take it FWIW, one opinion.