Welcome to the world of "official 'cattership". I gather that you've been "guesting" for awhile. Guests are not, per se, pariahs. They are merely "unregistered" visitors. But, the category does on occasion get a nasty rep due to the tendency of certain nefarious types to hide behind their presumed anonymity. Evidently your experiences as a guest were sufficient to motivate you to become a registered member. That's another vote of approval for the community that is Mudcat.