Alton Lady,
Look at it this way, at the time of my post, you've made only 14 posts, but have been thanked 25 times. To me this means a lot more than how many posts you've made.
I'm still a relative newbie here too. I am starting to notice that certain topics are controversial here. I guess it just takes time to get the feel of this place.
I've also noticed that some of the posts in the Restaurant forum get too, well, 'intense' for me. So I've stayed out of most of them. I guess people don't like honest reviews or opinions there unless they are 'positive'.
Thanks for pointing out your observations.