>> Somehow I feel if Microsoft discontinued the MVP designation the present MVP members would still contribute as they do now.
Absolutely. I got my first MVP award totally out of the blue. I didn't think I was "one of them" - just because I knew I didn't know half of what the experts knew.
All I was doing was trying to repay to the people who helped me, by passing it on and helping others. Because of their example, that's how I approached the learning of FoxPro, share what you know, ask what you don't - then share that answer next time ...
It's harder than it used to be. Because there are more people answering the questions before I get to them in my time zone. IMO It's a good thing that it's so hard for me to find questions I can answer :)