I've noticed a couple of trends developing over the past few days, so I'm posting this to address them and hopefully help some people out. When you read thru a thread, pay attention to the date it was posted on. As a general rule, when someone posted a question a month (or longer) ago the odds are they have gotten their answer and don't require assistance anymore. Bringing up old threads is a waste of AO resources 95% of the time.

Don't sit down and answer every thread on the main page with some inane one line post just to build up your number of posts....you expose yourself to the possibility of accumulating negative AntiPoints for making useless posts in this manner. Patience is a virtue.

Try to keep the tone of your posts respectible when reponding to threads...as time passes you will grasp a good understanding of when to 'flame' and when not to...and the flame time here is held to a minimum for good reason. Calling someone an idiot or saying that the software they prefer is stupid and lame when you only have 10 posts under your belt isn't wise. Show intelligence, not attitude, when posting please.

If JP or any of the other senior members object to what I have said here, I will gladly withdraw this thread. I'm only trying to help improve the AO experience for all of us, and I hope that this thread will do just that. If any of you seniors out there have anything to add, by all means please do so!

<EDIT>
This one is real important, and I apologize for overlooking it initially. When you are preparing to post a thread, take the time to use the search feature (upper right corner, main page) before you post. If you are wanting firewall or AV info, there have been numerous posts in the past discussing these and many other apps. Threads with repeated subject matter are a horrendous waste of AO resources. If your search yeilds no results, then by all means start a thread and discuss to your hearts content!