If you've been here for a while you know that at times I put down the hammer and that's it.
I keep this discussion open for a reason, and that I don't reply to a specific point doesn't mean I didn't hear it. However, do keep in mind the confirmation bias: Everyone here is already in the group of people who like the forum. And most of the arguments are one-sided from the side that enjoyed things the way they are, and in large parts shaped them.
There is also a silent minority/majority/we'll-never-know-what. They don't speak up here. They speak through private mail or by leaving the game. Just like I seem to ignore some arguments posted here, I feel the very real concerns of these people likewise get quite ignored.
Have you ever considered that there must be something to some of your most dedicated players LIKING the local boards? If myself and the likes of Delvin like it, use and hang around it after playing for around a decade, then maybe its a good thing for battlemaster. Granted, we are a minority of players, but we are also the ones who have played the longest and thus have a better sense of what makes the game more or less enjoyable. Like the old estate system where we were stuck playing regional maintenance master compared to the current estate system. We feel (and are justified in feeling this way) that the locals have been a good thing, as compared to the eight or so years without it. I have seriously seen IRC and the locals cause players stick around who might not have otherwise. We've had a couple of players leave who had activity on the forums yes, but much of those incidents also took place in game as well. If we're going to try and stop player nastiness why not just disable messaging while you're at it?
