Thanks for the replies, everyone.
Roger--never thought of that. Thanks

!
Nice graphics, Meriam! Thank you for your efforts.
Good idea, Eileen.
After all your kind replies, I think my best route is to use the Avatar->email address of the person and just side-step the PM function. Other than that, the forum software by Simple Machines is absolutely stellar.
Edit Oops...forgot to thank Panos:). Thanks Panos!