WHY not participate?

I know you have homeagain, and I deeply, deeply appreciate that you have. It honestly puzzles me as well (has for a long time, truth be told) and the only thing I can figure is that despite our continually increasing number of visitors to the site, most people view MMT as an information resource, not as a place to participate/share their information (having to login is a barrier, whereas everyone stays logged into Facebook/Instagram/SnapChat/etc so it's easier to open the app, get tons of content and engage with little effort). The days of the Forums being the primary place to connect, get information, and chat online has faded - Facebook, Instagram, instant messaging, Twitter, and NextDoor are all the rage now.

It saddens me because I miss all of the fun conversations we used to have, and none of those other sites mentioned above are local so people using them instead of MMT means they aren't supporting their online community resource that actually gives back to the community, but it is what it is - neither negative nor positive, but simply the way it is. We either adapt and change, or we disappear; thus is the life cycle of businesses.

Before this outbreak hit, I was working on radically re-designing the website to better mold the site into what we've become for the community, but that's now on hold as I wait to see how many of our advertisers are able to stick through this with us. I bought this business as we were recovering from the 2008 recession, and deliberately kept our advertising costs low over all these years in order to be available to more local small businesses, so we don't have tons of reserves. We don't have the overhead that brick and mortar stores have, but we have monthly operating costs that we have to cover nonetheless, and marketing budgets are usually considered expendable in comparison to rent, insurance, employees, raw materials, equipment service, etc - which I absolutely understand, it would be my choice as well if faced with that.

I'm contemplating some ideas for new things we can offer that businesses might be willing to pay for, or maybe we institute a donation option where community members can chip in if they'd like to help support our services like the webcams and daily weather forecasts, or get some sort of special access to new services? If you have any ideas, I'm all ears! I'd dearly love more people participating in good conversations here so if you have friends you think would enjoy the banter, please encourage them to sign up and join in!

I'm embarrassed to admit I have your "101 Ways to Die with a Horse or Live Happily Ever After" and I've not sat down to read it yet - I will though, I promise!

I live vicariously through your photos Tanya. I think I would really enjoy riding if I could get comfortable, but the few times I've been on a horse, something's gone wrong (nothing serious, just one horse that kept trying to go off trail, and another time where my saddle was too loose and it slid sideways down the horse with me in it), and knowing the power they have intimidates me enough that I feel nervous the entire time so I don't have as much fun as I should or could.

Homeagain, do you ever tour the wineries out there on the Western slope? It's been forever since I was out that way (Grand Junction, 2012).