Over the past couple of years that I've participated in this community, I have indeed seen a lot of things change. Some for better, some for worse; but overall, the balance has remained roughly the same. The thing is that welcoming newcomers isn't achieved by clicking a button. Neither is it achieved by posting automatically "Hi there {username}, welcome to the Maemo Community". I always thought that the "welcomer's club" was very kitsch, and never saw any real benefit. I never heard anyone blow a fat one and go "Oh goody me, it's a good thing I was welcome into this community or I'd never stayed!". I truly believe welcoming members is a difficult and intricate process. It is achieved by having people answer questions, having correct moderation that makes sure that the same issues aren't getting repeated all over the forum and that as a whole kingdom of information, information itself has to be very very easy to find. Unless people get quick replies that actually answer the question, people won't feel welcome. If a forum is a helpful information fest, then people, no matter whether they're newcomers or old-timers will be chipping in and offering information and advice, even if that means they have to dig for that information themselves in the first place. The opposite is equally true, if there are 10 threads that complain about feature x, or problem y, then nearly everyone will be chipping in. It's the black sheep thingy: only the most dedicated and committed individuals will have the strength to at least try and set back some untruths spoken out of rage or despair. Hope this helps,