I personally am a newcomer to chess and am learning from scratch, so far I have been working my way through the chess mentor, I don't think I'm ready to play for real just yet.
I think when you do start playing for 'real' you will find it a whole new ball game(without the ball). Any game you play face to face gets the circulation going more than looking at a screen.
It would seem this group is expanding. I f so, will those joining be a) providing information to newcomers or b) newcomers looking for information?
Whatever the answer, the quest is more chess players.