Well, I certainly understand the concern, here - by everyone.

However, As I have learned, this isn't an objective or fair system, and I don't think it is supposed to be. In my case - check my negs - I made the mistake of participating in political threads and then speaking my mind. As a newbie that was a mistake, and I accept that. I'm not preaching here, just letting ya'll know what I've learned. As one person who gave me negs said - "You mistake AO for a democracy." I think that he meant - freedom of speech. If someone doesn't like your Avatar or the way you spell color/colour, then, wel,l the hammer can fall.

I really mean that I lament the fact that I wasted my exposure on political threads. As a newbie that means if my technical contributions are somewhat questionable - meaning not worded quite correcrtly - I'm going t get negs just for instructive purposes. And I accept that. I was REALLY upset about the system until I thought about it for a week, Then, I figured out that maybe it really does work. Yes, if i were to whine - as a newbie - yeah - I would expect to be banned - considerng I'm very close to that now. :-)

This is a good thread because it demonstrates to me that once you earn some positives and "graduate" to higher levels, then you get some slack. I think that is OK, too.