I am relatively new to all of this, so set me straight if I am wrong.

I have read tons of threads suggesting new words in an attempt to translate an English word or idea into Esperanto. Most of these are not really translations at all but transliterations. First of all I was under the impression that creating new words was generally to be avoided, but that aside, I wonder if it really necessary or even beneficial to transliterate everything. For me part of the appeal of learning a new language is to think, process, and express myself in a different way. If everything is transliterated then all we have done is changed our vocabulary. Am I alone here?

PS - I am not intending to tick anyone off. I am just wondering what others think about this.

I agree that translation should be more prevalent. There are many lists which try to list words that have been imported but which aren't necessary, because the idea can be formed from existing words. For example: http://www.uea.org/vikio/Superfluaj_Vortoj

Esperanto started with 900 roots, but now it has at least 5000 and probably a lot more. There's always the risk that the vocabulary will be too bloated.