My thoughts...I would love to know yours:

It is obvious that many of us don't come here to learn the Turkish Language and in the wake of recent forums on this site, I find myself wondering....why do I come? I have never felt I was wasting my time on the site, but wonder what is the purpose of my being here? I immediately thought back to my college days. In those days, I was learning about politics, government, religions, ect...and discovering my own power to perpetuate change (or so I thought). The debate team was a perfect outlet for my new found voice of political awareness. Then, after I graduated (and grew up a bit), I realized just how small my voice is and that my voice alone, means very little in the grand scheme of things. As a human living in a democratic society, most of us understand that our opinions only change things if majority agrees and there is money to back it up. I think this site is a release for our inner voices. It is easy to be with people who agree with you all the time but a far better use of our time to try to understand people who are different from us.

As far as the forum rules about not talking about certain things...why? It seems to me that people who truly love Turkey want to understand it completely...not just know about coffee, food, language and carpets. Admin, you should be proud that your site is a catalist for such discussions. Perhaps it is doing more good than a meeting between politicians.

thats pleasure to be here for welcome to our guests,and thats really good way to make larger opinions about life by meeting with diversities..

I actually do come here for learning Turkish language skills, and have actually been able to learn to sound less like Tarzan. There are many resources here for that purpose. For instance, I heard about www.winmekmak.com here. The Turkish Dictionary is fantastic, fabulous, wonderful and very useful, I use it often.

One can learn a lot about various aspects of Turkey and Turkish culture. There are many wonderful photos of Turkey, and you can talk with the photographers about the photos they uploaded.

The forum is an interesting place to discuss ideas with an International group, who may or may not agree. Even though there is at times passionate disagreement, as long as it remains civil, dialog is always a good idea.

Great thread Elisabeth...thanks!
Last but not least, this is an entertaining site. Great thread Eli

I initially was here to learn Turkish, but then I had less and less time for it and now I just enjoy talking to people It's fascinating when people from so many different countries and with so many different opinions get together....

To learn turkish mainly .. although the interesting forum posts keep me coming back for more!!

A great idea for a thread Elizabeth. I'm sure Admin is very proud of the site which, from what I've read, has evolved a great deal since it's establishment.

You are right about the topics and the rules too. I've even asked if they can be tweaked a little to keep everyone happy. Healthy discussions about current affairs does no harm at all.

I originally joined so that I could learn Turkish because I visit my friends in Istanbul regularly. I must confess I am a coffee addict so I DO want to know about the coffee. It's just nice to compare experiences with other members. But, yes, it is important to learn more of the history of the country and what makes it 'tick' (one reason why I wanted to know about the newspapers on a different thread). I've learned quite a bit just by reading some of the lively discussions. Even the habitually deleted have their role to play in creating a picture of what the current issues are in Turkey.

Of course speaking to Turkish friends is also helpful because they all have different social backgrounds and different stories to tell. And now I have made several good friends on this site, male and female, Turkish and non Turkish, so thanks Admin.

Because Elisabeth and Girleegirl changed my mind about all amerikens being bed