I suppose it comes down to individual personalities--creating the forum you want, as MCC said. Shy people (like myself) often keep to themselves, and although I might comment on somebody elses' thread, I'm less inclined to start my own. This website is a shared resource, and therefore one tries to be considerate of all the other users/members. Adding a new thread may satisfy my goals, but it risks annoying other people, or causing trouble for the administrators, or clogging up the forums etc. Then again, as KirkSpencer points out, all that 'congestion' is actually helping people.

I suppose, if there are no formal rules, all it comes down to is keep the comments appropriate, try to be helpful, and post what you want to post (in a sense, be selfish, and respectful at the same time).

On a similar note, I suspect that the phenomenon of the internet is so new that universal codes of conduct have not yet been fully worked out. Dozens of nationalities mingle online, with different traditions of politeness and etiquette, and I wonder how the internet will transform cultures over time. Any thoughts?