coincidentally came across this thread and one guy who I am also in touch with via PM because of all the research he does came to my mind as someone who really contributes to fruitful discussions on Bitcointalk. He also initiates discussions with a variety of topics, is super responsive and deserves a lot of merits if you ask me. He puts a lot of effort into his posts obviously and he isn't a once in a month poster. Sadly, we don't have very many newcomers who seek healthy and fruitful discussions about the core characteristics of Bitcoin as a higher order global system. I hope you give him some credit for his efforts.