I agree with mark, we aren't forced to readall the posts.
And Lisa, having a second read of your post before you hit the 'reply' button is not a bad thing. Many a time on this and other boards I've written a response to something, then read it and decided to simply not post it as it added little value to the conversation.
Rocker, I like your idea of showing who are members. Just as we know who is a webteam member, why not show who is a club member.
This may sound daft but if the majority of posters are members, seeing the fact helps to persuade other non-members to join. It certainly works on some of the car boards I frequent anyway
Cheers,
John.