[Steven Smith]

In my opinion, CD provides an environment that is different than the normal mentoring of students. The biggest thing is that in my team/community, I am physically looking at a student when I talk to them, so my mind just "goes" to a mentoring type conversation.

On CD, unless it is explicitly stated in the post such that I can't miss it, I honestly don't always check "Team Role" to see if I'm talking to a mentor or student, though I might try to do so more often. Therefore, many students might get feedback as though an adult were talking to an adult, without as much of a filter.

I can see benefits of this for students, as you get into the "real world" and this feedback style will quickly become the norm for you, but I also agree that CD could be considered as less welcoming at times than would be desired, which could keep students from wanting to join.

I will echo the earlier comments that the original post has merit, and though it isn't the first time to be brought up, it is worth discussing the impact of the CD culture on students. You appear to have grown a lot and are contributing in a net positive way to the CD community, both through an increased quality of posts and efforts like your F4 show. You will likely face resistance if you push too hard for "others to change", but you could certainly impact the culture over time by continuing to set an example of how to make the board more welcoming.

Finally, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, but for any others reading, I typically consider it proper etiquette to double check with the sender of a PM before posting it to a public audience. It is the equivalent to recording a conversation with someone (off the record), and posting it on YouTube without their permission. It's easy to stave off any questions by noting on the quoted PM that you double checked with the author for permission to repost, as you thought the feedback had value for a wider audience.