1)" Interesting that /. is making such a big deal of recognizing 1st time contributors. It's an "interesting" editorial policy."
I've noticed that. I guess they're trying to make up for when it seemed like it was always the say people getting their stories posted. I hope it stops soon (not the more people getting their subs posted, but the hornblowing over it).
2) "what are the odds /my/ question will be answered"
Seeing whose running the course + what it's about, I would expect the probability of your question being answered is quite high - except that your question will be being answered by an AI.
"Does anyone here doubt Acacia is assessing its patient portfolio in light of this now becoming a startup?"
Who?