shockwaverider summed it up nicely. I personally have not seen touting so much as a validation we're not so alone or isolated as we may feel at times. The preaching to the choir is going to be a part of like minded ness no matter what group one is a part of.

The site does offer self validation that's hard to receive in evangelist societies. So yes, a lot of tooting our own horn but not much remorse for it from me.

Just like Victorianotes stated below, I live in a place where it seems like everybody believes the opposite of what there is actually evidence for. I come to a place like this where I can share my lack of belief with people like myself. In the south in the US, it's like you're an outcast if you accept science and reason.

There are things at work here. Recent converts to any religion tend to be the more overbearing within any given religious group. So it is with those recent unconverts from any religion who have found this 'new way of thinking'. That's just one dynamic. Then there is the '...been sober for...' syndrome that emanates from most folks who have managed to break any negative 'habit' successfully. The pride and the underlying uncertainty driven self reinforcement. They want to talk about it because it helps them.

The 'walking wounded' cases, the angry, the militant anti theist, and others. They want to talk about it. They need to talk about it. They have to talk about it. Indeed there is a lot of hate filled rhetoric, repitition, and belaboring of the obvious. This is a safe haven for all and one should expect both vitriol and honey, militant vents and expressions of love here because that is the nature of the beast.

We old timers who broke out of the gilded cage years before you were born find this to be a nice place to try to help when we can, console when needed, and just sort of hover in the background while we watch others grow.

I definitely see your points. And again, I didn't want to come across as being negative.
You all have made excellent points. I've lived in a place where I couldn't openly discuss it either - but I think, at least in my case, that has caused me to shift focus from being atheist, to just being, whatever else may go along with that.
Thanks all for your replies - it is appreciated

I understand what you're saying, but people need to take care of themselves and this place helps to fill a part of several deeply human needs: community, conversation, places to find love, expression of common experience/interests/identities.

Personally, I've spent so much time in religion, and a bunch of time thinking my way out of it, that it genuinely feels really good just to be able to talk explicitly about it little by little on this site. It's not really preaching to the choir, either, since we are often not the same page nor are we from the same backgrounds. That's why I love the dozen different possible labels this site gives as options; we aren't particularly uniform in beliefs.

Also, it's pretty easy for me to just pass over a post that I don't find interesting, and there are more science conversations that I'd like to have here, but haven't engaged with just yet. I'm sure there could be more posts that you'd like to see. Make some! And some other people will probably gravitate that direction, too. The possibilities of an open forum like this are numerous.

I don't notice so many "touts" as I just see the questions people have and need answers to.
Give me some illustrations of the touting, please. Maybe I just don't recognize them.

I don't socialise as such, don't have much in common with may people in my area. Not because I am atheist, just in general. This group is for non believers, so we have that much in common, and probably the only thing ins common across the group, Hence it is the natural focus of most discussions. It seems many live in areas that are not supportive of these views, guess I am lucky.

Do you think we "tout" it? I think we're all pretty much sold on the idea already. I think we just discuss those things near and dear to us. Other prominent topics I notice are the current state of politics in the US, and education. There are others, we aren't a one trick pony.

Validation, community, and a safe place to ask questions or posit opinions.

All I normally do is answer questions

Right on. it does seem like the pat on the back club.

Some of the people here are newbies, skeptics, freethinkers, humanists as well as atheists and agnostics. Some are liberal,some moderates and some conservatives. Different strokes for different folks.