Hi all. I’m a long-time lurker and was finally able to register last week. I’ve long enjoyed reading the intelligent discourse here. I’m so impressed that despite the extremely divergent opinions being expressed, there seems to be a minimal amount of rancor.

I’ve wanted to post and introduce myself for a while, but always felt like the new girl in school trying to approach the group of cool kids on the playground … not sure how to start! =)

Can someone please explain the site’s etiquette for updinging and downdinging? Do you upding the comments that you agree with and the downding the ones you disagree with? Or should downdings be reserved for posts you find offensive, etc?

Thanks in advance for your patience with the newbie!