Believe it or not, I really do talk that way. Yes, Virginia, there is a person with more than a 500-word vocabulary.
As do I... I never refer to a dictionary unless I am unclear as to what the precise meaning of a word is. For example, "hypocrite". As a rhetoric question, I'll pose one further argument, though... If I'm a hypocrite, what exactly am I doing that is hypocritic? Being unsure of the definition of a word isn't hypocritic if you admit it openly. It's another thing to pretend that I know the meaning of "cogent" and use it to demonstrate linguistic superiority. I was right when it came to what I thought it meant, so there's nothing wrong with using it.
"Cogent" isn't quite in my everyday language yet, though.
Not in my everyday vernacular either -- but I find convenient places to stick uncommon words when I'm writing anything, simply because you can't convey images through speech like you can through literature. =)
(One word I've always been confused about was "exonerate". It has every form of bad sound -- "ex", and "ate", and "er"... (as in "exterminate" or... uh... I'll keep the next word that came to mind in private).
Doesn't "exonerating" something sound like a bad thing to you? I always thought it was, until I confused the heck out of my English teacher. =))
Nobody gets on Zilal's case because, quite frankly, she's very conservative in her posting habits. Check her number of posts compared to most of the "entrenched oldbie" community... it's very, very low. Check out the average length of her post... again, very, very low. Zilal's posts slide by without questioning because she refrains from posting anything questionable. Anyone else who wants the same treatment she gets only has to follow her example.
Spuzzum posts more often, and being a person of a humorous bent, often goes further out on a limb than Zilal does, which means he takes more falls than she does. Still and all, he's a heck of a nice guy, and refrains from joshing with anyone unless he's pretty sure he knows how it will be received.
I could name a few names that have been around here pretty long, who still got shot down every time they open their mouths... but with the recent focus on positivity, I won't. Newness or oldness has nothing to do with it. If you don't want your posts to be questioned, don't post anything questionable. If you want your questions to be respected, ask respectable questions.