The assimilation of newcomers to the lakeside area has been revolutionized in the information age.

The internet has become a potent information source to attract new settlers from near and distant parts of the globe. And social networking is the current power tool for learning the nuts and bolts of living here.

Local web boards, blogs and Facebook sites are abuzz with questions from those seeking guidance and answers from folks who already know the ropes. Shared information is based on personal experience, generally far more current and useful than outdated stuff found on a lot of web pages.

That’s the good angle. On the bad side … well where to begin? Let’s start with the difference between experience and expertise.

Someone wants advice on immigration procedures or a dicey legal matter. There is always a know-it-all who will lay out the nitty-gritty in excruciating detail and another who will totally contradict what seemed like a plausible explanation. Thankfully, the truly smart responder will recommend consulting an expert on the subject in question. Yup, you have to pay a professional, but it’s worth it to avoid getting sucked in by misinformation that could cost dearly in the long run.

Online conversations tend to go off topic in a heartbeat. You ask for a suggestion for a good pizza place and next thing you know the replies degenerate into crazed arguments about proper crust, the right amount of sauce and getting screwed on buying cheese at Walmart.

A poster on one web board is famous for taking any opportunity to throw in beefs about the rising cost of the absurdly modest property taxes here and the local government’s dismal performance in garbage pickup, largely due to low revenue collection from, u-huh, cheap property taxes. Go figure.

And that takes me to the ugly part. I’ve been truly shocked by some of the nasty sniping that appears in social media.

Not long ago the friend of a resident lakesider asked if a hurricane brewing in the Gulf of Mexico was headed our way, an innocent question posed out of concern for someone close at heart. But right away someone replied, “Jeez, get out the atlas, get on Google maps and find Ajijic. It’s nowhere near the path of the storm!”

Before that, a long-time resident griped bitterly about newcomers who expect easy answers to their queries about making the transition to Mexico. “We had to figure it out the hard way; so can you,” the person snapped in response to a perfectly reasonable question.

Holy Mole! It’s true that we old timers learned to adapt by trial and error, by interacting face to face with our friends and neighbors. It gave us knowledge, along with rich experiences. But you can bet your bottom peso we’d have taken advantage of Facebook, Internet and computers if they’d been available back in the day.

So let’s not lash out at wide-eyed newbies for their naivité and efforts to somehow navigate the Mexico dummy learning curve.

Borrowing from the best Facebook question of the moment:  “Does anyone know of a restaurant that would be serving key lime pie today?”