ChinesePod Groups Feedback - soliciting comments from users

Kate the intern is currently soliciting comments from users, so she created a group for this. Don't take personal offense, but I don't think it was the most effective thing to do, as indicated by the small number of comments.

For one thing, we are asked To comment, click here to join this group first. Since this group is open, as many others, this is a deterrent, albeit not a major one.  I can see the technical rationale behind, one is now asked to post in a group, so in order to have the group listed, one needs to join.  However, I may just want to add the occasional comment without joining, which would seem to imply I have a strong, long-lasting interest.
[on reflection, I can see why I need to join a group before posting new entries, but I don't see any reason to do so if I am just commenting on existing posts.  I still like the concepts of groups though, having set up a few myself...]

Secondly, there are thousands of comments throughout this site addressing needed improvements, community issues, CPod communications etc. I assume Kate has access to the CPod CRM system and would know exactly how many. Granted, she has to troll through masses of comments, but I think it's all there.

As henning says, the groups serve as a rudimentary Forum, with key some missing functions. What I would be interested in, not having access to the CRM myself :-( is the extent to which tags are being used. I seldom add them when posting, probably out of laziness, also because I assume full-text search (if and when availaible) fill pull out the relevant terms.