I don't really know how to put this, but I personally would wait until I had some clear indication that I was welcome before I joined a thread. I did join the ORT (thanks, Aelia, for the invite) but I had been dropping in and lurking ever since we did "The
Glorious Triumph 
of the Modding Mage" with Larry, and I knew what to expect (i.e., fun)I guess what I would like something similar to "New Game, Come and Play", or else I would just wait for some overt invitation, like Aelia's