When I first started with BBF I saw it as a highly technical site. As technology changes, we evolve. I look at data/activity. I am not a user of BBM Messenger Buddy Thread but many people are based on the activity. With the increased features of BBM 5.0, the idea of groups has become popular.
Having one thread, sort of makes the thread unmanageable. You may want to consider a section where people can seek or promote a group as opposed to placing in just one thread.
I am not changing the content just adjusting the platform. It will also make it easy to monitor.