I won't name any names, but there are at least a dozen who are lurking here on a nearly daily basis, most of whom have been members for years. A few more stop by about every week or so. Granted, some may be spooks (toads, finks, etc), but it doesn't take more than a couple to keep official tabs on everyone and everything going on here (our tax dollars at work). As for the rest of the frequent lurkers?

I realise the language here can be a bit 'course' at times which may turn some off, but all too often this is DOOM we're discussing here, and it seems to be getting heavier and darker rather than lighter. Life After The Oil Crash is being shadowed by the growing possibilities of life after an EMP, or life after a nuclear exchange, or life after antibiotics fail, or life after the pandemic that can't be contained, or life after an extreme ecological collapse, or life after catastrophic climate change, or even life after the internet and cell phones stop working. Subtract from any hope left, the facts of a huge global population vying for their very existence on a resource degraded planet with no more cheap energy slaves other than other subjugated humans. Almost makes me want slide back into bed and pull the covers over my head for the rest of the year.

Yes, it would be nice to hear other voices, perhaps even some who have an idea for solutions. Still, commiserating the current state of affairs is fine as well.

I also understand that there have been 'spats' in the past which have driven some away. Some may have "HTTP 410" (the resource requested is no longer available and will not be available again). Some may have just gotten buried in "life", or been sucked away by fakebook and the like. Hard to tell from this watchtower.