Great post, Marian!
One lament among those of us who worked on the Star Return contest was that few of the stories out there were receiving any comments, or even the one click kudos. That's why we decided to build in an easy fan participation score card so that fan ratings constitute the vast majority of the decision-making to determine the winners. All of our stories are non-profit, of course, so the only reward writers get is if someone likes their story enough to say that. When we get to that phase of the contest, I do hope you'll all be a part of the experience, and score, write comments, or even just leave kudos. (Shameless promotion over!)
I remember reading Joyce's "Byte of Time" many years ago and enjoyed it, and believe I told her so in a private email back then. Also back in the day, readers discussed the stories in various media, and I think everyone's enjoyment improved as a result. Today, we're all here on Starmanet, a discussion list, so feel free to discuss and post comments like Marian's. Better yet, also post them with the story you like on the web site because then they become part of the STARMAN legacy, so we keep STARMAN alive for future generations.
Oops, that crash you just heard was me falling through my soap box, straw hat and thin wooden cane flying in different directions!
Chuck S.