Penitent,
I don't think there's any intention to marginalise anybody. Just like in real life, it's normal to associate with people of a similar 'age', though we can have friends from all age groups. This applies to the newbies as well; I regularly see posts along the lines of 'I quit yesterday too', thereby forming an association.
Think its also appropriate to mention that on my first day here, the first response I received was from RedRosie, a vereran compared to me.
I like to think that as I approach 100 days, I spend much of my time giving my (albeit limited) advice to new quitters.
You mention the VIP club; some members have several year quits, yet they still sign on to give help to others.
The concepts of the Cruise Ship, The Beach, the VIP club etc are related to the length of quit and are designed to make the quitter feel a sense of achievement.
Hope this helps to make you feel better about things...
Mr Ed
:)
.. by the way, if you're a Newbie, you should be calling me sir
(joking of course)
:p
[B]My Milage:[/B]
[B]My Quit Date: [/B] 2/13/2006
[B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 93
[B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 2,800
[B]Amount Saved:[/B] �697.5
[B]Life Gained:[/B]
[B]Days:[/B] 15 [B]Hrs:[/B] 13 [B]Mins:[/B] 29 [B]Seconds:[/B] 22