My reasons for being a member have changed quite a bit over time. When I first discovered the website, what kept me coming back was the satisfaction I got for helping someone else. Being useful is a great feeling, and I even had a handy counter to show me just how useful I was.
A few months passed and I discovered that I was drawn in more and more by specific people. I discovered a handful of individuals who I liked to talk to, whose company I enjoyed and I’m now proud to call them my friends. They kept me coming back every day (3 circumnavigator awards later).
As that was happening, I slowly stopped answering all the questions I could, and focused only on the more sophisticated questions, questions I knew I could offer some true insight in, where my contribution would matter, and questions that really made me think. I enjoyed the stimulation a lot. I felt like I was giving my brain a good daily dose of exercise on Fluther. I stopped answering any question that could better be answered by other individuals, especially ones I know are active. Lurve stopped mattering at that point.
After a while, as school, and work (or whatever I happened to be doing at the moment) started to pile up I became less active on the actual site. I now spend almost all of my Fluther time in the chatroom. Even though my zeal to answer questions (I never had one for asking) has faded, I still find myself wanting to stick around and keep talking to the people I always liked talking to. For me Fluther is still about getting that intellectual stimulation, but now I get it from chatting directly with people.
And hell, sometimes I’ll even answer an odd question or two.
Personally, I’d really love it if Fluther did more to encourage thoughtful in-depth discussions. Those are nice. Puns are fun, but I yearn to learn ;)