There's a moderator who sets the topic and keeps things on track. While I was still on Worship Weavers (what we call our worship committee), there was some concern about people straying into idle chit-chat but that seems to be under control from what I've heard. With my inactivity and disinterest in the First Sunday Potluck (as they call it), I'm not totally in the loop. The fact that it has lasted this long suggests that it is a success. I still wonder what a newcomer who arrives on a first Sunday with no background beyond traditional services makes of it. At one time, when I was reacting more to my Christian past, it might actually have sold me on the place, to be honest.