Any one on two wheels is a friend

I agree that some Newbs get too much of a pasting, and i know people who have been put off joining by this, but the forum to me really is like a bunch of mates, with differing opinions, but drawn together by the love of bikes, sitting in a pub and putting the world to rights.

It's been said several times in this thread now that anybody who is put off by the forum should go to the pub and see the real people behind it. It's worth considering that if the forum puts them off, they're even less likely to go to the pub and risk exposing themselves in person (and maybe their bikes) to the ridicule and hostility they fear attracting online.