It’s important, if you can, to give the new folks a little bit of grace
They’re coming from the most toxic place on earth, a carefully perfected hate engine
They’re expecting everyone to be horrible to them, for many, that’s all they’ve ever known of online interaction. They’re expecting to be manipulated, dogpiled, and abused.
Some folks will slip into their new place and fit right in, others might be a little feral at first
I’m not saying to ignore abuse or bad behavior, I’m just saying, WE can do a lot to show folks how this place works and what we expect from each other
And remember, they’re coming up from the bottom of a cold crushing sea
There’s a lot of nitrogen still dissolved in their blood, and they might need some time to decompress