You're partly correct in what I was asking ... but I'm not referring so much to a specific action or post as I am a pattern of behavior.
I'm quite in favor of shielding new members, and especially those who are also new divers, from the shock of strongly-worded replies ... in fact, I've come to their defense on many occasions against such things.
What I'm not in favor of is shielding new members who display a pattern of behavior that invites... Bob (Grateful Diver)
I agree with most of this and it occurs to me (as someone who has only been active on SB since August 2011) that SB and staff is proactively working towards redefining/ rethinking how they moderate the board. This is a challenging endevour since the culture of SB is firmly established and many people will be able to point out inconsistencies as moderation and expectations change. I appreciate SB being willing to do this and think that we should tolerate the process while the process is still on-going.
Also, I wonder if a 'save post' feature would help. If we were able to save a post for a short while before posting it, perhaps it would cut back on the hasty/ cut to the quick replies. I read a post recently that stated that the poster "had just read what they posted and had some edits." It occurred to me that perhaps many people don't re-read what they have written and if they had, they would have edited the post prior hitting the "post" button.