I could care less if men want to be on TE. As long as everyone adheres to the philosophy of the forum.
Paternalistic? I get that feeling from other posters, not just the male ones. The changing a flat thread brought that out and most of it was directed toward me! Maybe paternalistic isn't the right word, but there was a lot of "what's wrong with you?" in that thread. I decided to go out on a limb by posting my true issues and fears, and some responded with the comment that I was acting like a dependent woman, just get with it. And the one that bothered me the most was from someone I actually have met. A few of you were gracious enough to PM me and ask if I was offended by your comments, and honestly it wasn't the comments from those of you who sent a PM that made me feel badly.
I am not experienced in the ways of forums, because TE is the only one I participate in. Sometimes I read articles on various sites and look at the comments underneath. The level of vehemence and overall stupidity amazes me, so I have no desire to participate in anything else on line. A few weeks ago, I posted a link to an article about my former exchange student in Velo News. I could not believe the nasty comments people posted about him at the end of the article. So, my take is that in general, people are uncomfortable with things or people that are different from them, those who have had success, or those with more money. The level of anger against men in general, surprises me. Believe me, I've met my share of azzholes, and they come in both genders.