I think leaving and not lurking can be good for a backroom soul. I overloaded a while back, stopped coming in here completely, and just enjoyed other areas of the board--and other boards--for a while. Cirumstances then forced me to take a complete break from the internet for few a months. When I returned, I had a fresh perspective. I decided to take a peek in here, and so far have managed to avoid getting overly annoyed at anything anyone has written. Granted, I don't look into many threads--I just don't have any interest in them. But a few have interested me, and I've participated.

I enjoy the other areas of the board more, and spend more time in those areas than here. But I still like to stop in here once in a while and see what's going on. If I find myself in a group that's "going at it," I just smile and move on to the next "table" to see what's going on. So far it's been a good modus operandi.

FWIW.