Thanks, Sabby. I labeled the title "Please make serious posts only," but as you can see, I did leave room for humor--if it is made obvious.

Yes, I was just commenting to another member in a private message that one of my problems IS that I am relatively new. I know some people have been friends a long time on this site, so they know what the other people are like, and they do expect them to joke. That said, however, just how long are we to expect "new" members to just sit back and get to know how everybody is? There are hundreds of members--new ones added each day.

I might be wrong, but I didn't perceive this forum was to be a country club, with inside jokes and so on--at least in the main portion of the forums. I do admit that I feel like that is treating new people as outsiders--and possibly could even be perceived as rude sometimes.

If people would read my posts as a whole, then they would certainly see that I do have a sense of humor--in fact, I have been told that it is one of my strong suits. But, I do try to indicate when I am joking.....

Speaking of such, I noticed with chagrin that I left my mood as "happy" when I posted this thread. Obviously, "happy" was not my mood. However, gee, I am bipolar. I'd get worn out if I kept having to change the mood sign every time my mood changed! (And I DO mean that to be funny!)

I have a great deal of respect for you folks and what you do. Yes, we do need to be able to joke among ourselves about our difficulties. But, again, I think we need to be careful with new people coming in. Thanks!