Several days later, and there are still very few responses in this important thread, though those that have arrived are very pertinent.
So what has happened to the energy that was apparent on Dartmouth, which itself has become fairly moribund?
Perhaps it's the proliferation of other areas of expression - the various Facebook groups that were set up diversely, some of which were closed or remained unused? It may be this dilution which has rather flattened things.
A forum such as this provides a good archive, organising topics and communications which are old. What it is really not good at (at least in its present form) is displaying what is new.That facility is provided excellently by Dartmouth and the Facebook groups, but those are useless in preserving older and potentially useful exchanges unless one makes a rather difficult expedition into the Dartmouth archives.
Another factor here is Society membership. Only NPS members may respond here whereas anyone can subscribe to the other facilities. I've no idea whether this is significant in limiting the present traffic. One thing I am certain about is that it is not immediately easy to find new contributions here. Apart from my lack of skill as a Forum user (which shouldn't actually be necessary for a reasonably satisfactory experience), is it the phpBB facility which is not ideal or are all comparable providers similar in their restrictions?
Thanks are certainly due to Barry Say for setting up this Forum. He deserves our support in modifying the present structure so that it meets more closely the needs of participants and attracts more useful communication.
Discussion RIP (Respond If Possible)
Francis