And I would like to continue with it. I admit that I tend to be pretty ALL over the place with them, but it's been a nice way to spend Saturday night, IMHO.

So that it will encourage people to use the open threads.

I think it is very tempting for people to post off the top of their heads here just because there aren't tons of things being posted. Space isn't necessarily something calling out to be filled. As it is, there is more here than I can keep up with, pieces I would like to make the time for, but the thing is there is this whole rest of the Internets out there that keeps sending me stuff I want to read, too, and I have more time on my hands than many. So really it's just fine not to have a constant stream of tidbits getting posted as essays all the time.

I can talk about whatever's on my mind, at length. We just don't have enough discussion about the groups in Liverpool from 1961 to1964. (I also like to write about the theory and philosophy of electoral politics).

So I've found some of my heroes on Facebook and have become "friends". And some of those friends actually like chatting because they're real people, after all. Like Ted Taylor, known as Kingsize Taylor. For those of you who know background stuff about the Beatles, there's a recording of them at the Star Club in Hamburg from early 1963. It was Ted who taped it. And his group was pretty cool too, a rocking band. Well anyway, it's a thrill for me to chat with him and occasionally Brian Griffiths from the Big Three. If you know the Big Three you're my kind of person.

Yeah....when I write an OT (that's Open Thread, people!) I enjoy finding appropriate music...or inappropriate if I'm in that kind of mood.

Meanwhile, here's my Facebook friend, Ted Taylor, as he is now, still rocking.

Hello!

Glad to have found my way over here. Very nice place to land. Really like the site and the discussions. Been lurking mostly due to RL drama but still try to look in a few times a day. Keep up the great work and the awesome growth!

Best,

HCKAD

With the big increase in essays it can be difficult to find the morning OT, especially if , like I often do, you get here late in the day. It can be found of course but can take considerable scrolling to get down to it, which may or may not have anything to do with how often people are commenting in it. Just wondering if moving it the Front Page might increase it's usage since it would be much more noticeable. Just a thought.

Sticking it to the top of the page would do the trick for sure.

The topic is then just an essay without an informative headline. The discussion that evolves from the topic is either pertinent to the topic, and thus not open, or it isn't pertinent to the topic and is consequently the other OT--Off Topic.

Generally speaking, Open Threads are gathering points for habitual denizens to greet each other during the day and share matters of personal interest that don't necessarily pertain to any discussion currently being dissected by other essays.

These personal interests, happenings of the day, are often a means of establishing rapport and cohesion, and a sense of community among the habitual denizens, who then by a mutual sharing of personal trivia get to know more about each other than the limited information available on their respective bio blurbs.

In other words, Open Threads start out empty and lead wherever they may without regard to any particular topic.

(At least, that's their meaning everywhere I've ever been.)

http://caucus99percent.com/comment/87687#comment-87687

We've been having record traffic the last three days and this server is at full capacity.

Together, we can pull our own weight.

Here's what happened at Daily Kos, that relates to this:

If you think you’re getting that service for free, then you’re not the customer.

You’re the product that's for sale.