The single biggest aspect of keeping new users around, and building interest in the NT is for new users to have a trainee. It does not even have to be a U21 level trainee. For any trainee leads to instruction, and instruction leads to a desire to make a better trainee that may be NT worthy. If they are American then I will turn them to the offsite, to create a diary like I have done for years. This disconnect that you speak of is a subculture among the overarching offsite community that every new user should be a part of. A user can make his own choice once given the necessary direction into a larger world of training.
And I've done it before. I'll do it again. I'll edit the U21 info page to include a message to all that any user that wants direction to message me. I will not turn away any help that comes to me.