Greek Chat - should membership be closed?

[skylark]

I get the impression from some people who have been around the GC block (and like to prove it) that contributions from new GC members are not so appreciated. I'm starting this thread so that both new and old GCers can post about the community and whether new membership to the site should be encouraged or discouraged.

The reason I think that this subject needs discussion is because I have seen a number of new posters (like myself) get their a$$ handed to them because they were trying to meaningfully contribute to a conversation, but used the wrong word or were not able to give as much insight as some of the veteran-posters.

I'm sure that some moderator will think this is an attempt to personally attack and delete this thread, but I honestly think there needs to be a conversation about being nice to new posters. Yes, we don't know everything, but just because we're new doesn't mean we don't have anything to contribute. I've even read in other threads that we (new GCers) should refrain from posting for a matter of months before contributing our own thoughts. How lame would that be and how many great minds would be deterred from becoming involved in GC chat if they had to go through the motions so that they were deemed worthy to contribute?

I understand that a lot of new posters start discussions that have already been discussed (and many of you find that annoying) or say things that you may agree with as a whole but don't think are 100% right, but what good does it serve to rub it in new posters faces and possibly drive us away from the site altogether? But maybe some of us want to start a new discussion on an old topic because we don't just want to read a thread back from 2002 and call it good. Maybe we want to have a dialogue and that is why we came here to a FORUM.

So do the new GC people need to just suck it up and get whipped into shape? Should GC have stages of membership where you have to earn your right to post (members for 1 month get 1 posting a week/day or something)? Should old GCers have a little more patience and just laugh at all us newbies on the inside, knowing we will eventually learn?