Read Cif, but never post?

Hello! During Cif's birthday celebrations this week, we spotted a few comments by first-time posters (such as this one and this one ) who decided to break the habit and write on the site. So this seemed like a good opportunity to run an open thread dedicated to " lurkers ", asking more of those who don't usually post to take the plunge and say hello. On Wednesday, we thanked our regular commenters. Now, we'd like to hear from long-time readers, first-time posters – and give them a bit of space to air whatever they might have to say on this thread. So, do tell us about yourselves. Do you usually just read the articles, or do you check out the comments, too? Is there a particular reason why you don't usually post? Can you suggest ways we could make the place more welcoming? Or is there something to be said for saying nothing at all?