I've noticed a marked downturn in quality in the volume during the three months that I've been online here. [Hopefully, not around my own posts....] As others have stated here and elsewhere, that's an unfortunately side-effect of growth. But the really great posts are still there waiting to be read.

Part of the joy of FT is reading things from the cool people that actually bring a soul to this board. I find that the soul is primarily in the Community and Trip Report sections. I read every single trip report and have posted one and soon two. I realize that I must try to send personal emails to the reports that I really like, since I don't want to clog things up with "thank you" posts that don't add more value.

Another part of the soul of FT appears to be meeting these people FTF. This is something that I have not had the opportunity to do yet, although one makes their own opportunities I guess.

Those of you that have met others obviously post at a completely different level of (searching for the word....) consciousness than the rest of us. You are able to make all of this a very different experience, and to some of the rest of us, that is really cool and a level to which many of us aspire.

The folks that have no aspirations, they'll call that a clique and be derisive. But who should waste their time giving credence to people that do not have aspirations to improve themselves??

I emphathize with the plight of Catman and the other originals. Catman is obviously troubled by all of this more than most, I suspect because he has so freely given of himself to the experience. Some of the next generation of FTers do not seem to understand or care how to reciprocate.

If the originals do fade away or go elsewhere, I suspect that many of us that are less original will fade out of sight here as well. Unfortunately, I think it's inevitable in an unmoderated public space like this one. I hope that I will have made enough friendships on this board before that happens to be able to carry the spirit of the original FT through them.

[edited to add the previously missing phrase "some of" about new FTers - thank you for pointing out that I had made a poor generalization.]

[This message has been edited by ElmhurstNick (edited 09-01-2000).]