I used to regularly post a list of recent helpers (and also promoted their regions). I haven't been doing that for a month or more. I'm going to start doing those acknowledgements again, for people whose help I can easily track -- people responding to posted requests.

Unfortunately. much of the help is being done in group chat. You know, group chat, where the comments scroll away out of sight, much like the front page box -- a problem this group, with posts, was supposed to cure.

What do posts have that chat doesn't? Threaded conversations. Conversations anyone can read, follow, and easily understand, and benefit from, at any time. Chat is just one endless stream. I just can't read all that to make out who all is being helpful.

I'm not quite sure yet what to say about why people are using chat instead of posting. It seems to be a way for people, who are largely non-helpers, to engage the small group of helpers more quickly. However, overall, I think it's detrimental to the group.

What would really be helpful is if people responded to requests made in chat by saying "please post that in the group." However, I'm bemused, and resigned to the group doing what it does, regardless of the original purpose and process of requesting and getting help.