Hi Kelly,

I think the defensiveness is just the other side of the newbie thing, honestly. I just wandered in here after a hit on my blog thinking I could help out, and was surprised by the reaction. It's a sensitive topic, obviously.

BUT I've seen my own reaction before- I'm a moderator on a well-known writers forum and I see the same thing happen there all the time. We get stacks of people intentionally posting to promote books/ services/ products, and it's just not permitted- and at the same time, we get people wandering in and inadvertently doing the same thing without intending to, then wondering what they've done wrong.

What I'm saying is, I really do understand where you're coming from, and I hope you can see now that I'm not spruiking anything- I'm happy to become a properly introduced forum member (I already posted in that section) and I hope I can provide some support and advice to others (and get some in return- I have a stack of things I need answers for, like how the heck to wean my breast-obsessed daughter!)

Claire