silent, but not dead

I want to remark that, though I don't often post messages in the forum, I do appreciate "belonging" and, from time to time, checking the site.  It's just that I really don't like to spend a lot of time chatting; I don't think I'm anti-social, but several activities keep me relatively busy--including just playing chess.  (The way I've been losing lately indicates I've been giving too little time to that.)  I teach a couple of adult education classes, participate in various activities in my retirement community, read and listen to music a lot, and generally find things to do that keep me from wanting to linger too long in online conversation.  I'm glad the site is there, but forgive me if I don't appear on it too often.

Okay

Butt loads of people are on this site, and never post.

And as you're probably aware, the butt load IS the standard unit of measure for groups of chess players.

I suspected that.

For a job at the NYTimes, you'll need a degree in propaganda.