IMO it's going downhill. In the past I have been interested in getting involved in serious discussion on Socionics/serious discussion in general here. McNew was a douche, but he was so fantastical that for the better part, people ignored him and carried on trying to at least have some intelligent interaction.
I like Gilly, but it feels as if there is very little structure in this place now. If I run a search for most recent posts (which is typically how I navigate this forum), most of the thread hits I get will be pointless. Fun, sure, but pointless. A deep rant about how someone was personally affected by something in life that reads more like a speech than an 'in' for discussion, some silly thread that is just attention-grabbing and doesn't even pretend to be about anything in particular, someone complaining about someone else that creates a flame thread which then captures most of the forum's attention, derails and then becomes another pointless joke thread, general banter about favourite music or whatever without much lead-in to intelligent conversation - things have devolved from being threads like this:
This happened in my life: how does this pertain to socionics and what are varying points of view, advice and interest on it?
to this
This happened in my life look at me, I just thought I'd state it without asking for any input look at me!
from this:
What pass times/music/popular social elements connect and resonate with certain types/quadras? Discuss.
to this:
What music are you thinking about I like music hihihihihi
While I do really enjoy the odd joke thread and think that it allows us to see some of the more relaxed aspects of each other, I'm missing the meat in the sandwich when it comes to this place lately.
I'm finding that most threads that I read don't have any opportunity for a response any more highly evolved than a basic yes/no response or some candid "that's what she said" response. It's taking the interest out of it for me because the fun stuff has become the detritus of this forum and the opportunity to learn and discuss with other people has diminished.
I don't think that this is directly Gilly's fault (or anyone else's). Perhaps instead of casting blame, we could all share some suggestions about restructuring this place and perhaps, more importantly, stop and think before we make another thread that leads to nowhere, stop and think before we make another thread bitching about some forum member.....and most importantly, I think we should all make an effort to post one or two serious, interesting threads that allow for better conversation from now on. If you don't like the forum, remember that part of it is your product. Let's stop complaining and start looking at the way we respond and post here and try to fix things from the inside out. Also, perhaps less troll feeding. If someone tries to derail a thread and you get upset about it and begin to complain, they have won. Ignore it and lead out from the previous discussion and the attempted thread derailment will most likely get lost amongst the other more relevant posts.
I know I'm as responsible for such actions as the next person. Anyway, that's how I've felt lately, so I'll offer it up in an attempt to change things. What are everyone else's opinions regarding this? Are there any other suggestions on how to give this place more structure? Do you guys resonate with this?
Ok, I'm taking off my serious cap now. You know it's trouble when the SEI gets up on a soapbox waxing serious business hypotheticals.