Well, I was one of the first people to use and embrace the forums when they started. I don't post that much anymore because I don't play anymore. I got busy.
The roleplaying forum was fun. To me, it is not about playing the game outside of the game, but definitely a kind of metagaming that is needed. It is us, the players, talking about our characters. Even in a face-to-face game with friends you usually get play-angry (not really angry) at players who do things against your character. It is part of the fun.
Some of us enjoy arguing with other players about why a war started or whose character is the villain in the story. The discussions can be heated, but they are interesting.
I have not seen the forum become more hostile than the d-list was.
What makes people mean and hostile and negative is not ForumMaster or the Roleplaying subforums. Hostility starts when someone accuses someone else of cheating or powergaming or bad roleplaying.
