Why do people still type the url for this site despite so many reasons not to?
It's because through all the good and bad interactions, it's been established what sort of person (you) are. Just the act of being you is enough to keep coming back. Part of this reason is why people keep arguing about their perspective on this site. It used to be about everything users thought important, but after that was well established and then a lot more, it got old. What was left? A 6 page argument about whether water is wet or not. But even that got stale, so now a bunch of users who've established themselves as characters all visit this common site where they all talk about their own things that further establishes an identity.
So what happens when someone doesn't project their identity? They feel less connected to this place if there's no real identity. If someone who has an identity stops replying, but lurks, then the identity question could come from them thinking about how they feel about certain topic or threads.
I'm sorry, I've been working 13 hours straight, my kids- they've been driving my crazy. Goo goo ga ga.