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NEW MEMBERS - Please Read - Part 2
#1
Newbieness
Perhaps THE most common newbie mistake is in this area.  Cuban cigars are illegal in the United States.  Some members have them, some do not.  After spending time on a board and getting known, you may ask a member to trade some with you, but DO NOT make a post asking "where can I buy cubans?"  More importantly, if you do have a source, DO NOT publicly post it in a forum.  If you're in a hurry to get blacklisted, that's a good way to do it.  Any discussion of ISOM sources needs to be done through PM or e-mail.  The reason for this is that it is a public forum, viewable by anybody who points their browser in that direction.  This includes anybody who might be interested in keeping Cuban cigars out of the United States.  If a source is posted publicly, there's a good chance that every package originating from that source would be opened and confiscated, thus eliminating the source.

FOG's
First of all, what does "FOG" stand for?  FOG stands for F'n Old Guy.  It's a funny little name for a group of people who deserve respect.  Most of the time, when a newbie does something out of line (knowingly or unknowingly), the FOG's are the ones who straighten them out.  The confusion sometimes arises in what it means to be a FOG.  First, let me state clearly that I am not a FOG, so only take my definition as one not being from a definitive source, but one based on what I've learned thus far.  

What makes a FOG:
The FOG's are the members who founded the boards.  They've been there since the beginning, and without them the boards wouldn't be around now.  They have seen many newbies come, and many newbies go.  They can usually spot a scumbag within a few posts, long before the rest of us can.  Some newbies run into problems when they take offense to a FOG giving a hard time to a new member and try to stick up for the new guy.  You've got to remember, when a scumbag shows up, the FOG's have seen his/her kind many times before, and they don't usually jump on somebody without reason.  They protect the boards from trolls, price gougers, scam artists, and thieves.  They will act quickly in order to keep a scumbag from ripping off the members of the board, or using it for personal profit.  So if you, as a newbie, think a FOG is out of line for ripping on a newbie, just watch for a while before shooting your mouth off.  You'll find that nearly every time, the FOG is right.  The FOG's are generally very welcoming to newbies, and usually happy to answer any questions that haven't been asked a thousand times before.

What doesn't make a FOG:
A FOG isn't just anybody with a high post count.  A FOG isn't just a member who has been around for six months to a year, and seems to know what they're talking about.  A FOG isn't just a member who has a lot of money and therefore has an impressive stash.  The true FOG's have been around for years (that's years plural, with an s).  There's been some people who have joined up and after 8 months and 1000+ posts, they think they deserve the same respect the FOG's get.  Wrong.  Respect doesn't come from a post count, it comes with time spent on the boards and your actions during that time.  There are very few true FOG's in the online cigar community.  Pay attention, and you'll find out who they are.

"Getting It"
You'll here talk from time to time about whether or not somebody "gets it."  "Getting it" is not an easy concept to explain, but I'll try to give the best impression of it that I can put into words.  To "get it" means to realize that we're all just a group of people discussing a hobby.  It means talking to the other members as if you were talking to them face to face.  It means showing respect instead of showing off.  It means getting more enjoyment out of gifting cigars than getting cigars.  It means sharing your knowledge with others while realizing that there is still more you can learn as well.  Just reading and agreeing with this doesn't mean you "get it."   There's a lot more to it that I didn't mention, because there's not really a good way to explain it.  When you finally get it, you'll know.  If not, others will tell you.  


(much credit & thanks to Eric Shaw for this well written content and TAFDOM for finding it!)


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