I like the north-to-south sweep of state names, the "bisected by" phrase, and not mentioning Yukon until we have a live one.
Now I appreciate the 'temperate - verdant - arid - alpine' language. It's imagery expresses a love for the land.
I've noticed that first-time visitors are usually hesitant to start a new thread. Would it be redundant to say "We hope you'll respond to a thread or start a new one"?
I'd agree to Deb's last version, and/or any of the comments since.
>> ... members in Idaho and eastern Washington/Oregon who are not particularly active in the PNW forum - perhaps we could send them an @ invitation to join us? Or is that too pushy?
The "@" mention in a revitalized Welcome thread is a great idea. It would be cool if we could find a photo like Natalie's scenery that suggests "dry inland" and mountains, for that post!
Mass mailings can get to be a bit much after 2-3 dozen polite people send "thank you" or "no thanks" or "great idea" or "you're welcome" or "me too".
>> I always think bold is a bit like shouting, but will defer to what the rest think.
Another way to emphasize the list is to make it into bullet points, which might also fit with the narrow column it will be placed into:
"Welcome to the Pacific Northwest Gardening forum. We are gardeners from:
- Alaska
- British Columbia
- Washington
- Oregon
- Idaho and
- northern California.
We are bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean, and bisected by the Coast, Olympic, and Cascade mountains ranges. Our region includes (*) temperate rain forests, verdant river valleys, arid high desert plateaus, and alpine mountains. Our discussions are lively and cordial - please join in."
(*) P.S. if we say "varies from", there probably ought to be a "to" somewhere. another possibility is
"Our region varies from temperate coastal rain forests to arid high deserts, with verdant river valleys and alpine mountains."
