Well, I just learned a valuable lessson:

[SheilaT]

17. First off, welcome to DU.

As already noted, you've arrived at a difficult time. Trust me, it was equally bad in 2004, 2008 (REALLY bad then) and 2012. So far this year isn't worse than '08, in my opinion, but it will soon get there.

Some advice: pay careful attention to exactly where you are reading or posting. I've many times made the mistake of not noticing exactly which forum or group I'm in, and it's not always pretty.

Another thing to be very aware of: you may have quite a battle with someone in one place here, and in another the two of you get along just fine. Don't try to analyze that, or the other poster. Just accept it as one of the vagaries of DU.

Also: sad, but true. Time here matters. You may, unfortunately, get dismissed as a newbie, which isn't too nice as we were all newbies once.

I will say that I had a clash with someone here recently, and noticed that person had only joined a month or so ago, and while I didn't directly say anything about it, I'm not paying a lot of attention to that person's posts or opinions at this point. I didn't directly say that to the member, and won't. Nor have I put anyone on IGNORE (a function many here find useful) but I've learned to ignore certain posters on this board.

Please continue to participate.

And once again, welcome to DU.