Thank you kindly for the mention in dispatches. I read with interest your commentary on your experience as the inhabitant of a house with a stoop. Though I have no scientific data to back it up, I do have a theory about the stoop that might explain some of the awkwardness you cite. Historically, the stoop, particularly in densely urban settings, has been the most nakedly social of the liminal spaces. Sitting on one’s stoop practically constitutes an agreement to interact with whoever passes — vide the exchanges that occur between stoop-sitters and passersby in any city neighborhood. I sometimes think of it as the “obligatory wassup” — whether enunciated or accomplished with mutual nods, hand gestures, or eyebrow hoists, some communication almost always passes between the person sitting and the person passing. A porch, even one situated at zero backset, offers a slight variation in this regard. The porch’s occupant enjoys more control over the interaction. The presence of railings and stiles and columns, as well as perhaps plants or furniture, offer further remove to the porch’s occupant, who nonetheless still has the option of hailing anyone passing by and, if so desiring, extending an invitation onto the porch. These degrees of intimacy are nearly infinite, and they help make stoops and porches invaluable elements in our streetscapes. — Michael Dolan, author “The American Porch”