Jessica--I did the same when I got here--dug through the archives and replied to things that I found interesting. No one said a word, which bummed me out. I have since learned that whenever conversation takes a turn, Angie prefers people start new threads for whatever the new twist is. I don't like that, because the things that led to it are often repeated in the new thread. But this is Angie's blog, not mine, and so people--including me-- generally follow her wish and start new topics.
One thing some people do that I think gives a nice way for people to continue a past conversation (although I wish more would look) is include a link to the old post with a very brief summary, something like "The shoes that Miss Fancy Pants posted in this thread three years ago are exactly what I'm looking for. Do they still look current to you, and can anywhere suggest where I might find something similar?" or "A told B and B told C, 'I'll meet you at the top of the coco tree' Have you tried this, and would coco tree-climbing technique work on a lemon tree?" Without that intro, the second example could lead to discussion of what coco-tree climbing technique is, but if people look back at the link, they'll be able to continue the conversation from the point where the definition of that technique left off, and discuss its applicability to lemon-tree climbing. Goofy example, I know, but I hope you get what I mean.
There are various traditions here that might take a while to figure out. The thing about putting other people's name in bold can be done on a phone if you type < b > (without the spaces) before and the same thing after the word with a slash before the b. I usually just put their name at the beginning of a new paragraph and figure they can find it there--doing all the special characters on a phone is an annoying amount of keystrokes. There tends to be so much emphasis on "not being aggressive" that the responses to plain talk become so passive as to feel aggressive, like the time somebody told me my skirt was a type of corduroy she hadn't seen in a while. I asked what type of cord she meant, and what other types there are. No reply. I assume that even asking that probably came across as aggressive or as an accusation, even though my intent was simply to learn something new. But it's a good group of people, and generally people mean well. Welcome aboard.
