how far gone . . .
you see now, spoken like a true information seeker.
While I am almost entirely of the same view as yourself, I think the problem is that people were never really allowed to have opinion. Whenever a person did, there was a particular Mod who was very quick to pour water on said opinion.
Anyway, like you say, the forum is not what it used to be, or even what it could be. The only way (seemingly) to get people to give input, is to bring up the cultural differences in the country, or alternatively to jump down someone's throat for sharing their opinion.
But, this is of course only my opinion.
So, I was chatting to a friend of mine the other day about experiences we would still like to have. She "accused" me of being the biggest reason I have not "ticked" some of the Items off the to do list.
On reflection, I would have to say that she was right, I do sometimes (often) not allow a situation to play out and subsequently opportunities go by unused. Now I'm not talking about dodgy situations. Just those times when even with a familiar playmate, that one specific boundary is left intact . . . . .
Anybody else have something similar?
One just has to look at the amount of "views" the posts get and one can see that people are still interested. In what way is debatable, but nonetheless the interest seems to be there.
I think a fair number of the so called "old regulars" are just a little tired of some of the reactions! But hey, that's just my opinion . . . . . based on various conversations with some if the said individuals of course.