I have been coming here off and on for almost 5 years now. I don't know if that makes me any more or less a newbie or old timer than anyone else.
One of the reason I have left for a while in the past was because of the vitriol from some former members. It seemed that fighting through the drama was not worth it to get to the meat of the discussions.
I was pleasantly surprised when I returned this last time. There seems to be a marked improvement in the quality of debate. I think this has come from effective and at times aggressive moderating techniques.
My biggest problems in the past was the free rein given to fundies in the past. This has mellowed some. We seem to have a more educated, more willing to produce data, fundie and creo population now. For example, Faith was given another chance(she had a melt down, but was given a chance). The others are reminded to stay on topic and to back their arguments. This is a huge improvement. Then we have newbies like slevesque. He is completely wrong all the time(ha ha), but his arguments tend to fairly well thought out.
This is not a free for all forum. There are very precise rules. This is something that is rare. The Mods do a good job enforcing the rules. They are not perfect, but they are good. In the past I have been on the receiving end and thought I was unfairly treated. For the most part in hindsight they were doing what they were supposed to do.
That Crash is still carrying this on after 3 years is amazing. Time to let it go.
I have checked out the other board. It didn't pull me in like this one. Maybe it is the color blue.
I feel like I know the people here, for the most part I like the people here. There was no collapse. There may have been a refinement, but there was no collapse.
I vote nay on all counts of the indictment.
Facts don't lie or have an agenda. Facts are just facts