Hi Gracie, interesting subject!
Hmm... I don't know about "popular" -- personally, I tend to think of myself as a troll who's built a campfire under the bridge and just won't leave.
Seriously, I think my definition of what "popular" means has definitely changed over the years. To me, popular could have many definitions, but in the case of a forum like this, I tend to think of "popular" as just meaning that several people recognize your posts and possibly personality and writing style because you've spent a lot of time putting yourself out there.
There are always drawbacks, too. The more people that are familiar with your posts, the more criticism you're likely going to get, so there can be a few unexpected side effects.
Before CC changed to this format, there was an option that some people believed they could use to send any kind of comment they wanted to someone anonymously (but the mods could see who it was), which unfortunately led to some abusive situations.
The more people read your posts, the more vocal they might be about how you should post, what you should post, and whether or not you should even be posting.
My favorite thing about CC is when I can find good-natured people whom I can joke and banter with, and when I find someone like that, I tend to keep cracking jokes directed towards them because I know they're not going to blow up about it. This has often led to people accusing me of trying to form cliques, because I keep going back to the same people.
In truth, there are lots of people I see on the forum and want to get to know better/start joking with, but I don't know them as well so I don't say anything because I don't want to risk offending them.
It's awesome to find people you can laugh, joke, and talk with, but (and this might just be me), it takes A LOT of work (the friendships I've been blessed to make here have taken many years and many well-spent hours of communication), and a lot of bracing yourself for the times when you get blasted, which is pretty much inevitable as more people see more of your posts.