Dan, let me level with you here.
When I first came to this board in April 2006, I was a big-mouthed douche. For some reason I felt it was appropriate to be overly defensive and rather rude at times because somehow I thought it would be acceptable or cause me to fit in with the group. After about ten or fifteen posts (which have since been deleted out of personal embarrassment) and some cold receptions, I realized that wasn't how it worked around here. To remedy this situation, I looked myself over, realized what I was doing wrong and decided to change it to be more like myself and (and pay attention, this is the important part) I lurked for a while, only occasionally posting when "necessary" so I could get an appropriate feel for how things operated here.
In the four years since I joined, I'd like to think I've become a fairly well-liked and contributing member. (Please, someone correct me if I'm wrong.) But I never would have if I hadn't taken that step back and realized that what I was doing wasn't working. I'd like to kindly and sincerely suggest you do what I did and just sit back and watch for a little while. You're on the fast track to becoming the biggest joke seen around these parts in a while and I'm sure that's not what you're looking for. Take more time and just watch. See how things work around here. And maybe within more time, you can work to become a more productive member. We would all appreciate it.
/And for the love of God, learn how to use slashies in your downtime.