the thing is what will happen to members network of friends on the forum who may not border in sharing personal contacts e.g email if one day the forum suddenly goes offline how do we link up with each other and keep the discussion going.
Just a newbie curiosity question
Is the forum really a place to make friends or a place to learn and see perspectives of random person's that you have no social or casual relationship with? I think if the forum was created in the model of social media where the purpose is for people to meet and maybe become friends, There would have been a section in our profile that allows us to upload personal pictures. so IMO, i think for making friends is not the primary purpose behind this forum, it can happen, but not the sole purpose of the forum, so do not bother much about what happens if the forum somehow goes offline.