James, I’m not the official welcome wagon, but I do spend a lot of time on A|N, so I’ll take the liberty to tell you a little about the site.

There are three ways to join the conversations. You can use the CHAT ROOM, or you can post a discussion in the FORUM or in one of the GROUPS. The FORUM is open to everyone, but to post in a GROUP you must first join it.

I've started eleven groups here, so please join any you think might interest you: HERCULANEUM: A PLACE FOR MEN, FOUR SCORE AND SEVEN YEARS AGO, THE KNIFE & FORK, HUMANE ATHEISTS, CONSUMER ETHICS, A TRICK OF THE EYE, ODDITORIUM, ARS POETICA, LOVERS OF SHAKESPEARE, QUOTH THE RAVEN, and LINGUAPHILES & SESQUIPEDALIANS.

When joining a group, be sure to select FOLLOW at the bottom of the discussions page. The unspoken preference for responding to the comments of another member tend to be that you copy, paste and italicize the text to which you are referring, and then write your response below that. That way everyone knows to whom or what you are referring. Welcome aboard. I hope you enjoy it here.