What specifically are you suggesting in terms of talking with new users? It seems like we have fluxes of new users. Sometimes they come in massive waves, other times they come in smaller, less noticeable ones. I'm all for something more than what we have but, for reasons that are beyond me, I keep recalling the "introduce yourself" threads on old forums that were typically terrible. Maybe it was because every time someone commented on it, it would highlight and it was always stuck to the top. Maybe because most oldschool forums were less welcoming so they were an open invite for harassing new users. Regardless, I don't ever want Hubski to turn into that. When a user joins, they are recommended to use the "newtohubski" tag so that users who do not wish to see new users may ignore than tag, and those who do can follow that tag.
We can definitely add something to the primer / tutorial / etc. - perhaps a list of users (but then we have to manage that list....) or link to a thread where people can make themselves known, etc. The only thing that worries me about this is the potential - whether real or imaginary - of segmenting of users, power users, etc. It would have to be something anyone could participate in. I also don't know if new users would be more likely to reach out to another individual than make a new post, though. Maybe we don't need a more active #newtohubski but just a more laid back way of saying hi. Maybe a thread that gets reset every 3 months or so. Users like you can save a thread so that you are notified whenever someone comments on it. FYI, if you haven't done so, you should make a new account just to remember what new users experience when they first sign up. I try to do it every once in a while. I also used to personally reach out to new users and get feedback on what it's like from a UI / experience standpoint when they join Hubski. I haven't in a while, but there was always valuable feedback in them. Of course, I was more selfish in sending those messages than what you are doing here. :)