Once registered, the way the interactive forum works is that you can subscribe to entire forums, subforums, or threads and receive email notices only for activity on things to which you are subscribed. If you use all the capabilities, you will not have to visit the forum via a browser just to check for activity. Give it a try. You can always drop out if not finding it useful.
Autoharp Talk is different than Cyberpluckers in many ways. It is primarily an information source, a format chosen for providing responses to common questions about autoharps. It also includes a discussion section for registered users. The information section is public. The discussion section is private. Subscribers cannot communicate with each other offline by using the forum software.
Private messaging is turned off, and email addresses are not displayed or available. All content is online posting via the website editor and should be worded accordingly and appropriately. If a response is necessarily specific to one person, that's okay...we'll read along or skip it, no problem.