I participate in a wide range of forums and you are correct, no experiment needed. Its all about who was there longer and who is more respected. It is difficult to gauge how a forum feels about you after a short while you have to have been participating for a while and get into it/use to it. Usually the "top dogs" or the more respected members and mods keep an eye on new posts and read a lot from new people and if the first few things you post are not that bright or well accepted a mod or a respected member will make a smart ass/critical comment and from that point the rest of the forums "regulars" will take a quick and immediate dislike to you and make a snap judgment. I am guilty of this as well on a forum I moderate for. It sucks but it happens, and it is easily correctable. Its about how you come off and how you interact with people. The forum community is usually pretty strong and good forums are hard to secure your place in so to speak.
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