For a long time, I was the "new guy" here on AR. Meaning one of the new atheists that joined and actually stuck around. Often we get a few new people but they rarely if ever stay for very long (I have no idea why). Usually, there are some hangers-on, like Old Man and Tin-Man and I am thankful for them, but it is always a small number. Occasionally we get new atheists that just come here to promote something, themselves or a website.
Recently we have been privileged with "new blood"! This is inspiring! The diversity in age, geography, philosophy, politics, ideas is refreshing, to say the least. Having one thing in common, that being not believing in any god, is in itself is...dare I say it? A godsend!
There have been times that I have started threads just to keep things going as the conversations just bogged down.
Now I can relax. With the influx of more and new atheists here there are fresh ideas and new looks at old issues!
Tin-man and Oldman seem to have taken the mantle of protector and motivator which they are much better at than I. But don't be surprised if Nyar and Chimp3 and others don't chime in with very profound statements, they are very good at that aspect of the forum. I'm not going anywhere (that I know of) and intend to be just as crusty as ever, but it is a good feeling watching the new folks take the reins!