I speak for the oldies (only myself actually)

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

when I say -don't come down so hard on us just because at times we are arrogant mother fuckers. We don't mean to be.

See...we found this teeny tiny little haven on the GREAT BIG NET where freepers are not welcome.

We were ALL once new and most people were nice and welcoming to us and a few treated us like crap too!

Heck...I got called a freeper within my first 5 posts...no one congratulated me on hitting 100 posts even though everyone else got congratulated (NY99 was not doing it back then..so it wasn't her fault) and nobody responded to my posts for the longest time.

Everyone thinks THEY ARE THE ONLY one that goes through a sense of not belonging at DU...more likely than not, this is the same sense of not belonging that we go through when we walk into any room where we don't yet know others.

But fear not...we aren't all assholes...only I am and a few others...really promise...too true...I mean it :D

[Solly Mack]

1. Oh, don't listen to NSMA

She's not an asshole.


:)

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

2. I is too DAMMIT!

Hey darlin! :hi: Hanging in there?

[Solly Mack]

4. Is not! You is Maah-Vo-LOUS!

Yep...hang'in in there. ...and going wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!! :)

[opihimoimoi]

3. Hey, we ALL are ASSHOLES. No one escapes, except for the kids

and those who cannot know better, the lot of us are assholes at any given tiume to any number of people.

so it don matter. Its only when them idiots are intentional assholes that is bothersome,

Come, we go eat ramen and BBQ stick

[roughsatori]

5. How dare you suggest that newcomers stop the pity party!

:P

Seriously, if I read another person's post about being victimized by nasty DUers I will......I will.....I will...YAWN.

[Shanty Oilish]

6. hello

For sure I retain a sense of not belonging here. My husband would have a stroke if he knew. And I got beat up on, as a newbie.
Nobody wishes me happy birthday or notes my post milestones. *sniffle*
Why do I hang around? Because everyone here grieves with me over the wound inflicted in 2000. Everyone here is thoroughly mortified that the American president is...him.
$%&#%! I don't want to talk about it. :(

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

11. Congrats on 3296 posts!

You KNOW I love ya darlin'...and your hubby would bust a gut if he knew that :evilgrin:

[jus_the_facts]

7. Hey I resemble those remarks.....

....been there...done all THAT! :evilgrin:

Ssssup Teena! :yourock:

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

12. HEY YOU LITTLE MEDAL HEAD!!! HOW ARE YA!!!!

:hi: Hi Amber! Where you been???

[jus_the_facts]

19. ....doin' aight......could complain.....

.....but I AIN'T! :evilgrin: Where've I been...uhmmmm...out in the ether somewhere...smite'n the powers that be! :D

[SaveABug]

8. Promise?

cross your tails?

bwuaaaaaaaahhhhaaaaaaa!

[Rowdyboy]

9. NMSA, I really think you are a...

freeper. The continual right-wing/religious slant of your posts is nearly too much to bear!

I got six hits when I hit 100 posts (I believe you were one of them, I know Newyawker was another and underpants a third). Today, 2 years and 2,900 posts later, I might get 8 or 9 congrats so obviously, you guys are coming around.

I got trashed my first week for a totally innocent pun (if there is such a thing) about cats. Go figure...The point is, its slow going to get accepted around here. Give it time and you'll carve out your space.

[Booberdawg]

10. Hey ya asshole!

Well - never had you pegged for an asshole, exactly - just a militant feminazi. :D

Actually my experience hasn't been that bad. I didn't get a welcome or a gold star along every step of the way either, but then, I don't assign the value of my contributions on that either.

Sometimes you gotta wear body armor when ya come in here - especially GD. There's 30,000 people registered here - not all of them are warm and huggy types but gee that's real life. One another post several weeks ago a person posted a request for people to give him the brutal truth about why nobody ever responded to his posts. He swore that every time he posted it killed the thread. Well heck, if you look at every thread posted in DU, 90% of the responses don't get a comment to follow it. (But - he agreed to let me PM him if I saw a stupid or flame bait post that needed his touch of death. ;-) )

Maybe it's just better not to take it so seriously. It's just a message board. I do think for the most part the old timers do try to be friendly though.

But there is one thing for sure there is a WEALTH of information here and a BIGGER WEALTH of intelligent minds. There's plenty to chose from - take what you like and leave the rest.

Linda

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

13. Amen.

[Rhiannon12866]

14. I'm hardly an oldie and I speak only for myself, as well

Since I joined DU, I have felt incredibly welcome. I was fortunate enough that newyawker99 welcomed me on my very first post. I cannot say enough about how welcome and accepted that this made me feel. I have tried to welcome others, whenever I get the chance, because I know how much that lovely gesture meant to me.:-)

nothingshocksmeanymore, you also have been very kind. You have been lovely in congratulating me on each milestone.:D

DU is an incomparable group of sympathetic and sharp minds, as far as I am concerned. Maybe those that don't feel quite as welcome should take a serious look at their posts or just give it more time. Unless they are freepers, they will find their niche.:shrug:

I agree that everyone believes that he/she is a threadkiller. I have felt that way, as have others I know from both on and off of DU. Nothing is perfect, but I just suggest giving DU another chance. We all have good or bad days, but DU is usually constant in intelligent discourse, support and, as I have found, kindness. Others opinions notwithstanding, I have very little to criticize about DU.:-)

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

15. This morning I was doing a search to find a thread I had posted on

and I searched my own name...and as I reviewed the threads..I was the last post on every thread before it died.... it was funny to me because I don't really think about threadkilling and all that....it really does happen to everyone.

[Rhiannon12866]

24. It sure does! I often do a search when I first log on and find

that I am often the last reply on the threads I have posted on, as well!:cry:

It does happen to everyone. However, there are occasionally those that surprise you, when someone replies with an intelligent comment or a kindness that provides that human connection or a shared belief. Those are the ones worth waiting for, as I'm sure you have found, as well!:hi:

[Chovexani]

16. Thoughts

NSMA, I like your posts, I always feel like I learn something.

I'm an oldie, but I don't post often here because, well, I feel intimidated, outclassed, and insignificant. I didn't sign up for the longest time (I first started lurking on DU shortly after the Selection). Seems like every online forum I'm on, there's some clique of "big name people" and if you're not in it, you're pretty much ignored. I guess it's just human nature. One of the few times I started a thread, I was screamed at and told to do my own research (as if I knew how, that's why I was asking for help!). Needless to say I don't start threads anymore.

Being a malcontent and a loner, I'm always on the outside looking in. I know I'm not the only one who feels like they don't belong, but I'm one of those types that can be in a place for years, and despite sticking out like a sore thumb (usually because of how I look or the opinions I express), I'm still waiting outside in the cold while everyone else has gone inside.

This is not a pity post, I'm just being honest. And it's not just DU, it's pretty much my life story. I don't really know why it is, other than maybe the fact that I'm strange and introverted and no one really understands me most of the time. No, I'm not a teenager. :) I just feel like someone from another planet most of the time.

--C

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

17. I get it

BTW, that outsider thing really does work for you (from my view) It's part of what makes you a uniques soul.

But if it's ANY consolation at all...I REALLY REALLY LOATHE people who tell people to google when they ask for info.

I find nothing more enjoyable than knowing people come to DU because they really want to know..and because certain areas may not be their strengths and they want better info..hell..I do it with economic stuff and market swings and the like because I know I will get great info from some of the great minds here.

Anyway,,,just want you to know I often read your responses...just so you knwo they are not posted in vain.

[Chovexani]

18. I appreciate that

Especially cause I always feel like I've gone to school after some of your posts...in the good way! :)

[KG]

20. i'm only here to test my new sig.

:hi:

[Cheswick2.0]

21. people were very friendly when I came here..

now that they know me they don't talk to me..... x( :cry:

well sometimes that is a good thing, since I do tend to have Bill Oh Really disorder and often wish people would "shut up Shut Up SHUT UP"!!! Okay, I don't actually say it, but I do chant it in my head.

[buddhamama]

22. no need to fear

Newbies. really.
i actually thought about the newbies yesterday when adding names to the old timers thread, would they be upset,hurt,etc,etc.
but i added the names i did because many of those DUers were a part of my DU experience and i sincerely miss them.

i welcome all new members(unless the person is an obvious freeper).

i like the that DU has grown. sure i may not know all your usernames yet but eventually i'll catch on.

i was fortunate when i first came here; everyone was friendly and welcoming. in a way i feel it is my duty to return the favor, in honor of those who did the same for me.

and post counts really do mean zip nada nothing.

i've been here over two yrs and my post count is very very low compared to some. so there ain't no way i'm going to hold your posts count against you.

feel free too, to PM any time. if you need help whatever or a friendly something, my inbox is always open.

:-) :hi:

[DemExpat]

23. I must admit that I learn the most from the arrogant mother

fuckers......:D

It took me a while to accept this unpleasant truth, but it is true for me.

I love DU, it's my 'only' site, and even though I'll always feel like a foreigner, an outsider, I CHOOSE to be a part of this exciting, really interesting, sometimes infuriating group - even if my contribution is mostly donations and moderating terms......

I'll never have the gift of gab and mental acuity needed for sharp debating that so many DUers seem to have in excess. :-)

:kick:

DemEx