I'm not sure that you actually discouraged conversation, but you put so much emphasis on voting that I felt as though conversation was falling off the agenda.
ok, thanks, I'll add a note to those other comments mentioning that conversation is encouraged.
comment upvoted :)
Some research says that lurkers make up over 90% of online groups. I suspect that Less Wrong has an even higher percentage of lurkers than other online communities.
Please post a comment in this thread saying "Hi." You can say more if you want, but just posting "Hi" is good for a guaranteed free point of karma.
Also see the introduction thread.