Thanks Churl Pat for the kind words. I'm not into anagrams myself so I would never have picked up on that.
If I was going to pat myself on my own back for one of my own posts, I think I would have picked my "diggrifier" post [iggri/y - Miscellany] as that was a sincere attempt to improve the climate around here for the benefit of everyone.
I can't really make a claim for any "erudition" in this "bully pit" thread, Churl Pat. I just posted 3 different "bully" terms thinking it might attract the attention of some newcomers. Looks like it has. At least one anyway.
Without a steady stream of newcomers, AWADtalk can never grow. We are a very small community now, but I'm sure Anu, our generous host, envisioned a much larger community. I'm not quite sure how we can accomplish that.
My own approach is to post less for the existing posters and more for potential posters.
Most "Strangers" who come hear seldom stay. Not because they are treated rudely. You are the exception. I think it is because most of the regular posters here know one another in real life and the forum is a little 'clubby'.
Of course, this 'clubbiness' doesn't suit everyone's taste. Some people just come here looking for intellectual discussion and they have no interest in becoming part of a "club".
After all, AWADtalk isn't billed as a "social club". It's billed as a "talk forum".
Anyway, that's my theory why AWADtalk has never grown, Churl Pat. I'm sure the regulars will disagree. But they're regulars. What we need are more irregulars. The more posters we have, the more ideas, the more perspectives, the more healthy debates, the more opportunities we will all have to learn and to grow ourselves with the forum.
My personal emphasis on attracting newcomers, rather than courting old-timers, may sound revolutionary to some of the people who come here primarily to keep in touch with their existing friends. But it wouldn't sound novel at all, much less revolutionary, if the newcomers on AWADtalk outnumbered the old-timers.
Of course, a strong and continuous stream of new posters might result in a new group of leading posters, but that is as it should be.
A forum which attracts the brightest and most creative minds will grow more and more attractive all the time. It will not stagnate as AWADtalk has stagnated for so long.
