< Soapbox, not necessarily to James >

>I can honestly say that my own fears of sounding like an idiot kept me from contributing anything at all.

We all have these fears. Some of us get past them sooner than others. And, we may get past those fears but be disabled by other, very different, fears that may not be obvious here.

>I did get a certain sense of cliquishness that can be off-putting to someone like me. Perhaps it is because the same people were the ones doing most of the posting.

When I first came here I felt similarly. Again, how we (choose to) respond determines the outcome. This goes for most of life, not just the UT or FoxPro.

>I've also been mildly berated for posting messages that were not 100% accurate. I don't have time to test all the code snippets I post, but the fear of being further berated prevented me from more participation.

Again, how we (choose to) respond determines the outcome.

>By now, I don't care. I have paid my dues and I know what I know.

That's the goal. Some folks here are "babes" in FoxPro, but very few are "babes" in Life. If we're "professionals" then in the course of our jobs we're required to be experts, interact with all types of people, take the heat at some level, etc. In the course of that, we "grow up," get a "thick skin," or whatever. We're not in kindergarten any more.

At the same time, we will do better at our jobs, here at the UT, and in Life in general, if we moderate ourselves with good manners, tolerance, etc.

And some days we're more successful at that than others. ;-)

< /Soapbox >