Learning about this website

[Boromir88]

Oooh, first Rune, then Bb and now Esty! Form, how many long-time members returning does it take that it does become a party house, in your opinion?

Granted I keep in touch with a few of you almost daily now since the pandemic, but it is nice to return to the forum to discuss our favorite author and his stories again.

Pardon me if I told you this story, Esty, because I can't remember if I did, but I haven't forgotten it. One of my first threads I created was "The Decision to Croak" (I would link the thread, but I don't want to return to that embarrassing time). Anyway, Esty, rightfully raked me over the coals for that atrocious thread title. And if your intention was to sear into my brain "do better when naming threads here" it definitely worked. 15 years later I still agonize over what to title threads. "Will Esty drag me for this thread title?" is to this day what I ask myself before submitting a new thread. "I haven't seen her around for a while, but she could be lurking and it's not worth the risk!"

So, Soriman, welcome and thank you for your interest in learning more about this site. Some of us, myself included, might seem like we are Huorns, as described through Merry's eyes:

"They stand here and there in the wood or under its eaves, silent, watching endlessly over the trees; but deep in the darkest dales there are hundreds and hundreds of them, I believe."

"..Dangerous. I should be terrified of meeting them, if there were no true Ents about to look after them."~Flotsam and Jetsam

But (at least for myself) I'm just protective over a place that has been like a home for over half my life now. Unfortunately, that could lead to an impression that I'm naturally suspicious and standoffish to new members, but I'll make more of an effort to not be so insular.