I began reading the board on a daily basis as a newbie back in 2001, and I haven't seen any significant change from the way it was when I started reading it. The players change, and people come and go, but it's still like walking into a roomful of chip collectors and listening in on the conversations. And, just like a roomful of chattering chip collectors would include lots of non-chipping talk, so it has always been here. There is still a great deal of educational information in the posts that appear here, and it is generally easy to see which posts to avoid if you don't want to see negative posts.

There have been many periods when controversy and discord over various issues have arisen here, and things always settle down after a time. Sometimes the firestorms are due to personality conflicts and sometimes they're over important aspects of the hobby. Either way, they are always educational. They may help a collector form an opinion on an aspect of collecting, or they may help a collector decide who they wish to avoid doing business with in the future for whatever reason.

As far as "pushing" people to join the I don't see an invitation as a push. And, I don't see excluding non- members from privately sponsored contests as anything more than offering an additional incentive to join the .

Make no mistake, we HAVE to increase and build the ranks of the for this hobby to survive and grow. Local clubs are great, but the international should be joined and supported by every serious chip collector.

That said, there is absolutely nothing wrong with a new collector waiting until they decide if they are "serious" or not before joining, and little incentives like invitations to participate in contests provide a gentle reminder now and then to reconsider formalizing one's commitment to this great hobby.