[redwitch]

Thank you all for your responses. It's nice to see that the "good guys" are still around and still care.

Strangely, my issue isn't with the bullies -- they will always be around and there's nothing that can be done. And, yes, the admins do a great job of getting rid of the bullies and trolls when it becomes obvious that someone is in fact a bully or a troll.

My issue is more with the day-to-day members who are snarky (man, I love that word!) to a dumb question (may be dumb to them, but the poster was probably being very sincere); a question that has been asked and answered a bajillion times (either nicely direct them to an old link, answer it for the umpth odd time or just ignore it). I've seen too much of this snarkiness lately. It seems like there is a contest on to see who can make the "wittiest" comment first, usually at the expense of the poster who then feels like a fool and never giving a real answer.

If you really think the post is wrong for some reason (typing in all caps, for example), there's no need to chastise in public, a private message gets to the person and may help a newbie feel valued rather than ridiculed. Folks, be nice! We were all newbies here once upon a time.