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No question that the forum provides those benefits to the members and the far greater number who simply come to read.
It's said that there's no better way to be sure that you understand something than to explain it so that another understands it equally well. "Distance learning," of which this forum is a kind, is a difficult way to teach some concepts. When I have critiqued a piece in the past, the motivation was partly selfish -- I was equally engaged in calisthenics to train or retrain my own eye and sensibilities as well as those of the work's creator. I learned something from the effort, or at least reinforced something, and that in turn made it easier for me to critique my own work. I didn't always do particularly well at it, but we're all learning as we go.
I also have benefitted greatly from Forum members' recommendations of books, DVDs and workshops, even if those authors and teachers have never been here "in person." All those materials opened up entire new practices and schools of thought. And I have stolen lots of great ideas from other members themselves, and learned from their example.
Though I have met very few Forum members in person, I have worked and interacted with many, over 4 or 5 or 6 years, which has created bonds of friendship as strong as those with people in my own real world (or IRL, as they say.) I "talk" to several people here more often than I do to some members of my immediate family. My son was in grade school when I somehow first "found" this site, and he's now in college. Only a lot of good will and a feeling of professional value received could make so many people stick around for so long, and it's something that is available to anyone for the price of admission (free). Yes, there is attrition, but there are also new members each week.
So, yes, there are lots of good reasons to be here, to be taking full advantage of what can be found here, and to use the Forum as professional leverage to get the word out about one's own work, workshops, philosophies and the like. My earlier post wasn't intended to muse about why people generally may be reluctant to join and participate, but only to respond to the narrower tacit inquiry as to why the Forum doesn't make an effort to have a greater number of "big names" on staff. (Since I haven't been "on staff" now for about three years, I don't have to ponder exactly how far below the "big name" standard I land, though I know it's a long period of freefall before impact.)
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