Posted By:
barrysloateI think the board has always been considerate and welcoming to first time posters. I know it can be intimidating to make one's first post because nobody wants to look silly. But we've always gone out of our way to make newbies feel at home, and have always encouraged them to stick around.
It's the chronic off-topic posters, together with those who can get a bit combative, that experience the most trouble and often leave. But the fact that people come and go is not unusual. There is a small group of hard core posters that have participated on a near daily basis for several years. So I'm not sure the fact that some people are leaving is a sign that something is wrong.
Another important point is that threads that ask a specific question about vintage cards, for example: which colors in E94 are most difficult?, don't need dozens of responses. Once a couple of E94 experts have responded the question has been answered. But when a provocative topic is posed that demands someone's opinion, it's not surprising if it approaches or surpasses 100 posts, because each person has something unique to add to the discussion.