[The Squatter of Amon Rûdh]

I'd like to see a wider range of people too. All too often the presence of lengthly posts in academic language seems to deter others from sharing their thoughts, but that is not the intention of the members who write those posts. I don't have the answers, but I think it would deter certain members from the discussion if they were required somehow to tailor their posts to suit the needs of others.

Perhaps a more determined promotion of the idea that anyone with an insight to share should consider posting in the discussions would be more helpful. The 'learned' members are always eager to hear a fresh opinion, particularly from new members; and nobody who has participated so far is the sort of person to dismiss someone's views because they aren't written up like a university paper.

I agree that the foreword isn't the most interesting part of the book for a lot of readers. I'm sure that the Prologue and A Long-Expected Party will draw a lot more people into the discussion who are more interested in Hobbits than allegory versus applicability. In fact, the lighter tone of those sections may well be just what the doctor ordered (and that doctor is not necessarily a PhD).