I really don't think that most of the people here are jerks. There are some, but for the most part people are really good here. Especially to newcomers, and especially when I know a lot of people here have answered the same quation 500 billion times. Usually it's stickied, and usually it's in the help, and usually there are 10 other threads right underneath with the same question.
I do agree that the forum goes through phases. And things flow like a tide. Some weeks people are harsher than they could be. Other weeks people are kinder than they need to be. It's all a part of having a large group of people, with different backgrounds coming together. Especially when a lot of us are talented, competitive, quite smart. I think that's what makes it tough sometimes around here. It's very rare that you can blow smoke up someone's arse around here, without being called on it.
Some people here are perfectionists, and if you mess up on a certain spec, rate, grammar, formula, description. It doesn't take long for 5 people to point it out to you. I've had my shar of frustrations here. And at times I have lost my cool. But I always try to start each day, seeing what I could have done better, or how I could have been more accepting of crit, or being dead wrong.
All though I have left here for periods of time (without any goodbyes), I can say that this is the one forum that has helped me deal with people, has humbled me, and I have truly learned from.
In my circle, family etc... I am used to being known as the smart one, The computer geek, The math geek, the go-to-tech guy, The artist etc... So, to come here and see so many others with incredible skills far beyond my own, is a weird but good experience. It's hard for me to pick up the types of converstation that go on here, with the people in my daily life. And on the topics I enjoy, I am usually the one giving out knowledge, rather than being pushed to be better.
So I guess to sum it up. TGC forums challange me. It's not always easy. But all in all, even with some jokes or sometimes frustration, I truly believe that this is one amazing group. There is not one other forum or group, that I know regardless of how long I break for that I will come back to again and again. Other things seem to be fads and fade. But this is the one place that mixes nearly everything I am into. Technology, programming, Art, gaming, Math, science, and above all humor. There are a lot of funny cats around here.
And now the tear jerker! I have also witnessed some of the most kind and giving people here. If I knew them in person, they'd be friends for life for sure. Amongst all the other things that can transpire here; most people here have a really good heart, a lot of patience, a welcoming and re-welcoming attitude, and truly show an extreme ability to provide guidance. I honestly trust more people's oppinions here than I can within my own small circle. If you ask for honest and crit, you'll sometimes get more than you bargained for. But it's all good. Praise doesn't come too easy (and it shouldn't). But when earned here, you know it's the real deal.
