Thanks, Lonely. I would rephrase though...it's not my efforts to be a writer. I am a professional writer and editor, have a long career as such. So I'm not trying to be a writer. I am a professional writer.

Certainly, as I suspect you do, I aspire to continue to always improve my skills. But my point is, I'm not just starting out. I'm published, and I mentor and train/teach other writers in my field.

I agree that age is not really the issue. The internet just seems to be a place where people can be immature and bully others.

I'm not super beating myself up about joining the group. I'm just doing some introspection about why this didn't set off my ******** and bullying meter sooner.

I think it's really sad to think how much wasted energy goes into this group, when these people could probably spend that energy doing actual good for their cause.

Oh well...