Unfounded praise is to be avoided, of course, but there is also a place for encouragement of promise. Some of our posters here are as young as 17--though this is not always announced. And a lot of folks here have come a long way since they first joined. Sometimes it seems there is an attitude of "scare them off" or trial by fire to new members who haven't yet got their footing, without giving people much of a fair shake. (Sorry for the three or four mixed metaphors there...)
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