Hello all,

Having recently passed 100,000 members, we felt it was time to share a brief message of thanks to all the community members who make this sub what it is - a vector for optimism and positivity, a forum for meaningful, informed discussion of important issues facing this country, and a place to engage more concretely with the ways and means by which change and progress actually comes about in a country like ours.

In some respects, this sub was borne out of a frustration with the media's tendency to elevate news of conflict and division (or often simply of utter triviality) over news of sucess and progress. While algorithms that reward provocation and a need to compete with social media undoubtedly explain in part why news organisations focus on the things they do, it would also be fair to say that there is often a good deal more to be said about failure and dissatisfaction than there is about success. One core idea behind this sub , however, was that when brought together, the cumulative effect of good news - of key infrastructure projects launching or completing; of financing being found for cultural restoration, or to grow innovative British companies, or to build desperately needed housing; of our cherished institutions enjoying success and growth; and of pockets of our natural environment being restored and enriched - would itself be a phemonenon of considerable interest.

And so it has proved. The growth of this sub, and your many many fantastic contributions (and occasionally moving words of appreciation) convinced us that there was appetite for this approach to news about our country - an approach that tries to be clear-sighted, and to encourage frank and open discussion about technicalities and tradeoffs (something else that is sorely lacking in our current political and media environment), whilst maintaining a fundamental belief in the self-fulfilling properties of optimism and self-confidence. There is a lot going right in this country on a daily basis, and it is right that we also pay attention to that. If other media outlets are unsure how to present this fact to their readers in a compelling way, then we will do it ourselves.

That is why we have devoted our time to moderating this sub, and why, in the past few months, we have increasingly also expended much energy in the creation of what we have provisionally called the UK Project Atlas - a work very much in progress, but, we hope a place that brings together those of us who are interested in better understanding how things in this country really change - how the makeup of our energy mix alters over time, how our built environment continues to transform, and how the efforts - as often voluntary as not - of people up and down the UK improve, preserve, restore and maintain all of the things we care so deeply about. We have many, many ideas on how to develop this project, and hope in time to have built something capable of making a meaningful impact. We encourage you all to explore what we have done so far (for the time being, we recommend if at all possible accessing the site via a computer), and to reach out to us directly with any thoughts or feedback you have - we would like it to be as interactive there as it is over here.

All that is left to say at this point is thank you all once again for your contributions to this community, and we reassure those of you who are less interested in this project that we will continue to moderate this sub just as before - we will not neglect our responsibilities here!