Incentive idea for discussion forum participation

Though it may not always seem obvious, I (mostly) respect the opinions of others, and I understand that many are averse to participating in the "Other/Political" category - possibly for good reason.

But backpacking is like life itself - strange observation, that - it includes many things seemingly not all directly related, like astronomy, knots, the environment, hunting & fishing, botany, medicine etc. Who is going to decide which knots are relevant and which not (pun intended!)? Should we restrict our "environmental ethics" to LNT only? Or should we have a much broader view of our world? Much of life is not all that endearing or "tasteful", but there it is.

"Drawing the line" needs a lot of thought and is probably ultimately futile. As the Buddhists say, "Eat, sleep, sh*t, die." You can't have the eating without the sh*tting and the living without the dying. Many don't want to discuss the latter, but they are intrinsic.

I suspect the magazine sees this area as relatively superfluous except as a "traffic generator" - and, then, it was created ex nihilo for us by our dear friend bp2go, who looked down upon us, saw our misery and took pity. This is the Eden he brought forth from the rock.

And at last call, they are all pretty.

Well I, for one, joined for the backpacking and stayed for the banter. (although I prefer "community" -- it seems more accurate). The boards make it easy to navigate the forum to find the topics that are interesting/valuable to me. I like the potluck analogy, and the forum won't really grow significantly unless new members add their voices. And if they aren't contributing now (for whatever reason), I don't see a flurry of activity happening so that people can collect points.

My observations about the new vs. old forum: 1). Social media options have expanded, and not everyone will choose this outlet. 2). The forum is moving forward and growing -- but it isn't going to be like the old forum. And it doesn't need to be. You've lost some members, and maybe others are at a different place in life. That doesn't mean it can't be relevant and thriving, but it's bound to take some time to build it up. And 3). Everyone will use this place in the way that's right for them. Whether they just want an answer to a specific question, or to read without commenting, or look at the photos, or maybe even add their contribution to the two-word thread (which left me in the dust, BTW).

I don't know how nourishing this "meat" is for the discussion, but it's what I'm bringing to the table.

P.S. And the loon avatar? Honestly, it's because it's the only photo I could figure out how to upload. Although I do love loons ...

Guilty as charged. I don't generally post trip reports to this forum because that board always seems so barren--chicken and egg I guess. So I hereby commit to posting a report from my next trip here.

And whether I agree with the "any and all" depends on how you define "conversation."

That's always seemed to be the logical place to me, so that's where I post my questions about areas I'm interested in so as to get the attention of the people who have interest in that area.

Yeah, I don't usually peruse a regional forum, if I don't hike in it. May I suggest cross-posting in both forums...?