I'm glad I lurked for a while before joining the board. I was able to get a sense of the various personas, and when I joined I kind of laid low initially. You know, listen/read a bit before flooding the board with newbie posts. I think one has to have a concept of joining an existing community, and realize there are folks who have been around for a while, some of whom are highly respected members of said community (and who may come off as salty MFs to the unfamiliar). One has to know how to interpret the comments of various members, and the best way is to listen before leaping.
I'm just sayin'.