My reasons for joining GN? Well. I'd been referred to some articles on Mumsnet by my darling god-daughter and thought, being of an age, I'd investigate Gransnet. I 'lurked' for a while before deciding which threads to post on and, while I enjoyed reading sensible points of view on the news and politics, I decided there was too much 'nastiness for the sake of it' to add any comments I may have. I still lurk there occasionally though, but don't feel strong enough to participate when there are more personal and preferable demands on my time.
I enjoy the chat threads. I've missed the company of work colleagues since I retired 7 years ago so look forward to 'hearing' about the daily lives of other posters.
I like to be able to offer help to others, whether that is suggesting possible alternatives or solutions to their problems, or just offering a (virtual) shoulder to lean on in their times of stress.
I value the opportunity to express anonymously about how I'm feeling about certain personal things, and have felt the invaluable support of others.
I have not joined in with the word games etc but do enjoy crosswords, solitaire, jigsaws etc on other sites. IMO there're too many word games on GN for me to keep up with
but I know others value them and therefore I feel they're important.
BTW, I sometimes lurk on the 'Argy-Bargy-Cafe (ABC) but ATM am too tired to contribute. Maybe after the school holidays commitments ... LOL 