Hawkeye, try to understand that many of us actually know each other, have met, and have shared each other's beer. Some of us, not me though, are well established pro brewers, or authors, etc. Some of us, like me, are still learning and have learned most of our bag of tricks right here. This is a different forum than most. We tend to be a little protective of the atmosphere. We like it mellow, though there are occasional heated debates but usually between folks that understand its not meant as an attack.
Kind of like an old English pub from the movies. When someone new walks in, we all look over our shoulder to see who it is. Sometimes that's off putting. Sometimes the new guy says something that ruffles feathers. Its not that we're over sensitive, maybe it just sounds too familiar to a past visitor... If you relax and hang around you'll see whats going on and might get a lot out of it.