It may be that I'm used to having to get to know a lot of people (thousands of students since 1999, and probably somewhere north of 20,000 people over the course of my lifetime have I had at least a five minute conversation), but I never experienced that problem at other sites. If someone has something to say, says it well and without antagonism, generally that person fits in well. Or if one is like me and can be an occasional asshole, that person still gets noticed and still can draw some positive attention on occasion

As for ways of interacting, long threads here tend to detract from what any are saying. At roughly 200 responses, this thread is a real clusterfuck in order of hunting down who has said what and when (especially once that 30 minute window has expired). It's a Byzantine structure, one that doesn't even allow for that nice, handy feature called the "Quote" or "Reply" button at makes it quite clear to whom (one or several at a time, it doesn't matter) you are addressing your points. But that may be that I'm adept with non-threaded forum styles and can see the benefits more clearly and think less of the drawbacks than those who rarely, if ever, use it.