Maybe this topic has been thrown around and I’ve ignored it, but why is it necessary for new member to be upvoted before they can respond to their post and others. Seems like a good way to discourage new members, ideas, and input. It seems there are fewer and fewer members posting the last few months with the same guys(like me) saying the same things over and over. Gets boring. Is it something the wives have requested so we don’t spend so much time on Sways? Just wondering. Mike
Exactly. The point system disourages new member participation. Why post if you have to start 15 threads, assuming nobody downvotes you for it…
I think you need 10 points to respond, not hard to get, all the new guys seem to be doing fine. I try to give the new guys up points as a matter of course, and I know others do too.
posting is down, I thought it was the new format - really I- phone unfriendly.
mike paler alone is responsible for the points system, and he set it up the way he wants, so I try not to get too worked up about it one way or the other. It’s got it’s good and bad points, haha, but it’s not gonna discourage me from using the site.
I think a little positivity goes a long way to encouraging people to post, and a little negativity goes a long way to discouraging them. So a simple that’s cool, or nice work, or thanks for responding, can make the site better, IMO . I know you already know / practice this.
Lately I tend to post more in E&B, where the over the hill gang hangs out.
I still think it may be the wives…Mike
Yeah that was a good one I overlooked 
Yes, the wives of the designers of these older programs…when the internet was a land of promises.