I've decided to withdraw from active participation as a member in P&R.
In my case it's too time consuming to be both an active participant and the kind of PE/CV that I believe P&R needs at this time.
I never participated in any online forum until EE, and only joined when I needed technical help for an XP migration. In the almost 2 1/2 years I've been active in P&R I've felt like I've gained another college degree or two (really) for the amount of research and investigation of thread issues. Then there is the experience of responding to others from different and international background who have completely different outlooks, but having a surprisingly high level of compatibility that Ive found on certain issues. There is quite an education in that, and I've seen that it really goes both ways. Hopefully, others have seen this as well for themselves.
It's interesting that EE has a Philosophy & Religion topic area along with all the latest technology areas. I suspect that it has been a refreshing place to drop-in-on for members who want to take a break from technology and get a different kind of mental exercise. Yes, we talk about religion and non-religion, but when we talk about philosophy, it's almost never about classic philosophy. It's about philosophies that most members can easily talk about; about philosophies of life, and includes the philosophical aspects of politics, economics, and culture.
When we combine that flexibility with member-participants from all over the world and various cultures, it makes for a dynamic and stimulating experience for those who want to seriously participate. This means that we have more discussion than the technical TA's, but we still operate within the same EE standard question-answer format. Even in this forum where there are often no correct answers or where we can even have opposing answers, we still follow the EE format by awarding the questions on the basis of "best" responses rather than the best answers. We also try to maintain the EE standard of treating participants with respect. All of this combined with the standard EE format seems to have an appeal to technology participants. And, I think all of this combines to explain why P&R attracts many new participants among it members.
For all these reasons, I think it's worthwhile to continue on as an active PE & CV in P&R.
I might even make a comment from time to time.
This thread is open for comments about your positive experiences in P&R.
Then, in keeping with the P&R guidelines this thread being neither a philosophy/religion thread nor a question-answer thread (its more like a discussion) it shouldnt become a P&R PAQ, but should be moved to Expert Input upon completion.
