Questions: In general, do you think Bitcointalk.org is a friendly place, and/or would you be really comfortable telling close friends (offline, in the real world) that they should come here and sign up?
I know several people who tried to registered account in bitcointalk forum but they got evil fee warning and they never completed it, probably they though this is some kind of scam.
I am not sure how often this happens, but for some newbies this is not always nice and friendly place, maybe because they are mixed with an army of spammers.
For everyone else that passes initial fire I would say that community is mostly friendly and willing to help members asking genuine questions