> On another note, judging from long-timer's comments, it seems that several recent threads are repeats of old ones. It occurred to me that these people might feel ... odd about this. On the other hand, it's difficult if not impossible for newbies to take part in a discussion that went on 'long ago'.

I think it's ok, at least on topics such as this one that cannot be explored completely in a single discussion. It's just that the long-timers may not be interested in contributing the same thoughts a second time. This thread has mostly been carried by those who have been around more recently than the earlier discussion, and it ties into a current event anyway, so it's not like this particular conversation is redundant or unwelcome. I guess what I'm saying is, this isn't something to worry about. :-)