Sorry for my absence. I've had other cyber distractions!! I think that conversations online can easily become 'aimless' and repetitive, so interest will diminish- no matter what the topic. I think that continued discussion about a topic requires some ongoing impetus. This forum doesn't exist for the purpose of nurturing relationships or keeping social contacts active (even though this may be the indirect result of conversation. For example, my subjective impression of John is that I like him, so that keeps me involved in the forum (it might be interesting to take a closer look at how that process develops!). But back to my point-- I think trying to stay with one particular topic- even to the point where everyone has read the same book or article, helps to enliven the conversation. If there is too much generality and too many strands, I find that the exchanges become too diluted. It might be interesting for example to share with each other our emerging first impressions of one another as they occur -