I'd say they were pleased. A. A living exchange of ideas among everyone sincerely interested in philosophy, whether amateur or professional, tyro or old hand. In the three years since I started debating on the net, I made more progress in my own understanding of a number of issues than I would have made by studying on my own. That experience is probably typical for anyone who is sincere.
Many people go to philosophy sites to engage in verbal guerilla warfare.
That just misses the point. One, he said, was the refusal of the public to grapple with big issues and to hide their fears and seek fleeting satisfaction from consumer goods. The other was that people weren't wearing enough hats. The board voted to sell more hats. Philosophers can help the public to recognize that it doesn't have to buy hats.