I think you hit the nail on the head. Great Point! Like you said its, nice to see both sides of the fence mixing without war. Weather your a white hat or black hat, your side of the story is unique. When you can share about some security flaw you found, someone else can elborate on it and maybe come up with a something that benefits the community. Its really nice to have a community of people that care about security. Doesn't take a genius to find some of these flaws. The point is group participation is the key. The more the people checking out the scene, the more territory that gets covered. I think of it like a pyramid. beginners being on the bottom and experts on the top. If a beginner see's somnething strange on his firewall, he may not know what to do with it. but if he passes it up to the next level, they may be able to contribute what they know in order to solve the mystery. Eventually by the time it reaches the top, its been figured out.

Critter
http://www.chrisstokes.com