thanks for asking:
1) How did you find out about TFP, when you first joined? Did you lurk for a while, or jump right in with posting? What helped you open up and start posting?
i found out years and years ago through a friend. I forgot how she found out, but she doesn't even post! I started posting right away. I didn't lurk, and I'm finding it harder to get back into posting after my 3-5 year hiatus (3 years ago i posted infrequently, lurking til i finally stopped all together)... So now, I am more of a lurker than anything. I think the community was definitely stronger back then and more interesting. That might be part of it. And some of my favorite people had gotten banned!
The community was generally very open and the sense of anonymity also makes it easier to open up. I also probably felt like I wanted to belong..
2) From the beginning, how did you feel about the porn aspect of the board? (And the fact that as a result, there are far more male than female members here)? Has that ever made you hesitant to post more often here?
I thought it was interesting. And porn/sexuality is definitely something I have always been fascinated in. I even wrote a term paper about art and pornography as it deals with censorship..! So, intellectually, I have always been interested in the subject of porn, which sounds weird, i guess.. but all in all, i'm saying the porn aspect was intriguing to me :P
3) What kind of "female" board topics/forums might encourage you to post more often, if you could vote for something? (E.g. a "wedding" forum, or something for parenting, or any other topic that might be interesting to you?) I'm not sure. I'm not really into weddings. I'm kind of a feminist. Maybe a feminist topic/board, but that would probably totally not go well... Other than that, I really don't relate to weddings or parenting at all. That being said, I find myself sticking close to the ladies lounge more often than not...
4) Can you think of anything we might be able to change on the boards, to make it more appealing to potential new members? What is it about TFP that has made you stick around this long? Well, I didn't stick around, but now I'm back. What made me come back? I guess partly cos Hal was sortof hinting I should (he talks to me on IM), and partly out of boredom and thinking, "Why not?". Though, I'm having a hard time answering that one... What's the point of posting on any message board at all? I'm not sure... But anyway, back to sticking around despite ambiguity, I guess i've always felt I belonged here. People were very accepting the first time around. Felt like part of the family... So it was easier to go back than not... I haven't been back long enough to know if they are still as accepting to new members. I think Onesnow puts it pretty well. There doesn't seem to be as much enthusiasm in general...