Phoenixx:
Your questions and statements are honest and fair. They speak to your relative newness to the Agoracom forums. Perhaps you have posted before, but if not, a warm welcome.
On these forums there are those who are 'tolerant' and those who are 'intolerant'; those who do 'research' and those who do 'none'; those who 'share' and those who 'take'; those who are 'helpful' and those who are 'hurtful'; and those who take time to think and those who just rant.
The sum total of my observation is that the forum is very, very human. At first read more than you post; then observe and read those who get lots of recommendations. Ignore the rest if you choose to do so. You don't need to read every post. 5% might have a 'nugget'. Just like that stuff Noront is trying to find.
Agoracom actually has some rules to follow. If you are not familiar with them, here's a link: http://agoracom.com/rules
If you have any specific questions, don't hesitate to PM me.
Snug