On the other hand, there is a comfort level with posters that have contributed thousands of posts since their signup date. You know where they're coming from and you're far less likely to misunderstand the point they're trying to make.
New screen names tend to have a higher rate of troll, infiltrator, and troublemaker than folks with a track history of at least a couple of active years. That's just a fact.
I don't know what the magic number here is. It's at least a couple of months of active posting on a variety of topics. You can't get acquainted with everyone all at once, although some have tried.
I don't know who you were in your past FR life, but if you've been here for any appreciable time you'll know that newcomers are inherently distrusted because they often deserve it.
I might add to your eloquence, that several of us know one another IN PERSON. We're not merely keyboard acquaintances.
What I can't stand is the Holier Than Thou crowd who have been here consistantly for a few years who think that they OWN Free Republic and continue to insult those NEW and RETURNING guests to FR simply because they don't agree.
To me it's more about what you have to say than how long you have been here.
I do know that newcomers are often trolls. However, you can tell a troll by more than the date they signed up. I laugh at the ones who will talk to you for an entire thread and then suddenly pull out the you're just a newbie argument. They obviously knew you weren't a troll (Peach knows I'm not as I've encountered his/her/its paranoia often). I've always thought that a lot of true Republicans probably have gotten run off that way. Makes FR look bad. Part of the appeal is the maturity level here as apposed to other places.