WARNING! RANT AND LONG SUGGESTION
Skip over if you don't want to be bothered.

I am truly appalled, Keiva, at the PM you received. One would suppose that it came from one of the long-standing members who has posted a great deal, maybe even a pooh-bah or close to it. If that is indeed the case, then he/she has lost touch with reality and really ought to get a life. Firstly, without the least intention of negative criticism, I have noted that most of those who are pooh-bahs or close to it have indulged in innumerable short postings which really consist of chat, or jokes, or ripostes, etc., not anything of substance; this is how you get to be a pooh-bah. And that's OK with me. But I hope no one who indulges in this kind of posting is wacko enough to criticise someone else for making the board more of a chatroom than a discussion arena. Secondly, the notion that anyone should read through the old posts is lunatic. I just counted them. There are at this moment a total of 37,985 posts listed on the main page, not counting old weekly ones. Does anyone expect a newcomer to pay his/her dues by dredging thru all those (85% of which have no real content anyway) while trying to keep up with the 100+ new ones which come on daily?

Since there seems to be at least one person, and maybe more, trying to impose some kind of rules or discipline on newcomers, and sometimes on established members as well, and doing a poor job of communicating his/her concerns, maybe we need to try to establish some basic principles of proper AWAB behavior for everyone, from pooh-bahs on down, to follow. I suggest these for a start:

1. Everyone is welcome here, whether they are really expert in the English language or struggling with it.
2. Every member has an obligation to make newcomers welcome and to assist them if they ask for help on a linguistic point. We have a special obligation to assist young people and those who speak English as a second language.
3. Fresh members and fresh ideas and viewpoints are not only welcome, but necessary if we are not to become a snooty inbred clique. Nothing is expected of new members except a desire to ask a question, or to join in on our discussions and cyberlife to whatever extent they may want or be able to, observing the common rules of courtesy and responsible conduct.
4. Except for Anu Garg, our esteemed founder, we have no officers, no one with any authority over other members. The titles we bear confer no special status and are linked only to the number of times we have posted, which is mostly a matter of simple longevity and ample leisure time. No one is expected to show any deference to any other member simply on the basis of his/her title. Those who are worthy of some degree of respect and deference due to their demonstrated knowledge and wisdom reveal themselves to anyone who sticks around for very long.
5. Our interests and discussions are wide and far ranging. There are categories for postings to be placed in, and we will try to make use of them, but there is some overlap and some subjects do not fit well in the categories, so there should be no criticism of anyone's choice of category.
6. We do not expect or desire to entertain discussions of religion, politics, ethical or moral questions as such. This is not the place for proselytizing, preaching, or trying to argue partisan positions. But quotations or references from scriptural, religious, political etc. sources are acceptable as literature or to illustrate a point in a discussion.
7. Given the number of posts which have built up (due to the popularity of this board), no one can be expected to search thru all, or many of them. It is therefore to be expected that new members will ask questions that have been asked before, or initiate a subject which has been discussed before (what old timers call a YART). It may be useful to gently and politely let that person know that this is covered in old postings, and advise how to find them; but this is only as a matter of helping them out, not to criticise them for doing something heinous.
8. Language which is not suitable for everyone will from time to time be used. We are not prudish and do not attempt to censor anyone. However, all should bear in mind that we have members who do not appreciate scatological language and we also have members (and highly valued ones) who are 14 or even 10 years old.
9. A member, or newcomer, can make him/herself unwelcome by engaging in unnecessary bad language, rudeness to other members, getting personal in debate, introducing subjects not the purview of this board, or, in general, violating the rules of civilized discourse which ladies and gentlemen are expected to observe. We have no way of expelling anyone who becomes unwelcome; the only thing we can do is to admonish such a person, which must be done with the greatest caution and all possible good will, and only in a private message. If unwelcome conduct continues, we can only ignore the offender.
10. We do not tolerate plagiarism. An idea or expression not one's own should be identified by author and source, if known.