I've never had problems on AVRfreaks, but it's been a few years since I've been there. There not so hardcore that if you don't explain your situation, experience, and what you've done you'll get help. They do tend to be angry towards PIC users but I dunno, it's just a cultural thing =) I had problems blinking an LED at first (forgot to set the I/O lines to output) , got plenty of help there, you'll get grumpy people, but you get those here too =) Though the PIC guys here are great.
Alright I've spoken my peace =) Good luck with your PIC stuff. From everything I've run across on the forums here Blueroom knows his PIC's, and definitly knows how to make some spiffy graphics =)