Bit late, as always(!), but Jane and Nonu have both made the point I was trying to get at.
Surely, it is more polite to try and get the feel of things first and, if those things are not to one's liking, maybe GN is not the right forum to join.
Two sides of the same coin. As necessary and welcome as a squeeze of lemon juice in a cloyingly-sweet recipe, but occasionally the lemon is squeezed rather randomly and over-enthusiastically, and can then set the teeth on edge. Never with spite or malice aforethought, though. Please don't get yourself banned, J08
Just before you draw that line JO8 I'd like to add my twopenneth. I'm on holiday at the moment and don't make a habit of checking online but did so and saw this thread. I haven't read the whole thing but enough to comment. You are the funniest poster on GN; I LOVE the way you cut through the holier than thou attitude which can be overwhelming at times, often with a single word. Wonderful.
Some posters who transgress Gransnet's rules do modify their future posts after being warned, it's true. But as has been pointed out already, J08's posts are never malicious, nasty or intentionally cruel. That's why she gets so much support.
bluebell I agree with you that new posters should be made welcome and not intimidated, but my point was that if new members lurk for a while and get to know the regular posters, they would realise what jo8 is like and not take offence
bluebell I think I just would not go back to the book group if the reading list was completely unedifying for me.
Same on here..I read various threads sometimes I feel I want to contribute sometimes I just don't want to or more likely have nothing useful to say. I try to make posts based on the tone of the original poster but not always. Nobody is making us post.
I find it odd that some posters have obviously decided to like/dislike other posters when I am sure they don't actually know each other! I may not like the opinions / ideas of some posters but I don't know anyone well enough personally (though have met a few GNs at meet ups) to have strong feelings about them as people.
So getting back to j08..she is a lively poster and GN would be duller for her absence ...
Well - if new members anywhere are expected to behave in a certain way, what does that say about the etiquette for existing members behaviour towards new members? J08 has been dreadful to new members in the past and part of the problem aired ad nauseum here I believe sprang from her upsetting some new posters. We can't have it just one way - if we want new members to follow 'etiquette' then we should think about our behaviour too towards new members.
Have there been any sightings of j0 8 since her last posting? I hope she's not huddled in a corner of Exeter cathedral wishing she had never heard of Gransnet .
Absent I agree that new members have the same rights as anyone who has been posting since GN's inception, but it is a question of etiquette that applies when you join any group or community. You wouldn't, for example, join a book group and immediately start criticising the choice of books, or the contributions of the other members...... would you?
it wasn't me! But am now hunting for the (presumably) interesting thread I must have missed!! Sorry to hear there is a fuss Jo8. Your views are certainly errm 'robust' ....but this is Gransnet for pete's sake; aren't we supposed to be cranky?!