Somehow I think my standards for meriting newcomers are higher than for other ranks
Might I suggest changing this?
You absolutely may, and I respect your opinion--but I'm not sure if I'm willing to lower my standards or not. I will think about it, though.
The problem (that I've ranted about ad nauseam) is that most Newbies just don't make good posts or, as I said, I'm reading threads in sections where newcomers are just posting crap. I certainly do want to help lower-ranked members, but I've had the opinion for a long time that most new members are here just to make money, so they're not putting in a lot of effort when they write--and it shows. Anyway, I'll sleep on it and appreciate the input.