Hi,
I know this thread is over a year old now, but it addresses some interesting questions and brings to mind, for me, some real world observations. I've actually wondered about why there seems to be so many more introverts on the forum and I've come to this conclusion. A forum such as this is the perfect place for an introvert to have a conversation. Each person gets their turn to speak without being "cut-off" or interrupted.
It's also the perfect place for N-dominant people, especially introverted N dominants. N dominants tend to ask a lot of abstract questions and in the real world, I know from experience, asking those questions often makes people just shake their heads and look at you as if you are from another world.
While I realize that there have already been many valid points brought up and discussed in this thread, I would still like to go back to the original questions and add my two cents worth [and that's probably a fair assessment of the value of what I'm about to say. Still, two cents=two cents.]
1. The consistency of the membership MBTI types across time sort of amazed me. Any ideas on why the percentage MBTI breakdown of the original members is so similar to the breakdown today?
I find this interesting and it may indicate that the type of people who are most interested in human personality development and cognitive development remain constant from year to year and even decade to decade. I would wager that most major theories and developments on those theories come from the groups most highly represented. That's not to say that others aren't interested, but that they aren't
usually as interested.
2. Why do you think there is such a heavy concentration of INXXs?
In the non-virtual world, I've brought up the subject of cognitive development, learning styles, etc., with co-workers, friends and family members. I would guess that 90% of the time, the Se/Si dominant folks are
passingly interested in typology, more as a curiosity than anything. They want to know where they fit, sometimes, and then move on to the business of living. Some of them just really don't care about that sort of stuff. One Si dominant person I know says to me when I approach him about typology, "You're silly." Or "You're talking about that...again?" An ESTJ family member is interested in personality, but she wants to neatly just stick everybody into a little box and says, "You're a red. You're a blue. You're a yellow. You're a white." [she's into the color coded personality stuff]. She really does have a hard time understanding why others don't see the world just like she does and do things "the right way." I will say that of the ST's in my life, ESTPs and ISTPs seem to have more of an interest in typology, as a general rule. I've gotten very little response from the SF people I know.
3. We have a lot of Ni and Ne doms but there is a statistically significant number of INFPs in there as well. Thoughts on why this is?
I think INFPs are better at writing than they are at speaking and it just so happens that a forum offers them the time they need to formulate what they want to say and guarantees them an audience of some sort.
4. Do you have any suggestions on how to encourage participation of some of the less represented types?
No, but I wish I did.
5. Do you have any other observations on this?
Not right now.