Tom,
I think that while closing down the local forums makes some measure of sense in the immediate term, it won't solve any long-term problems. It will prevent some of the bickering that occurs and perhaps relegate a few people to spend more time IC seeking information, but overall I think this will be a negative thing for the game. The Local forums don't need to be removed, they simply need to be harshly moderated.
The fact of the matter is that the local forums are the single most frequented part of the forum if I had to make a guess. I certainly spend most of my time there, and I believe currently have posted over 1600 times on the forum. While the forum is not the game, it is a means by which to retain interest and passion about the game. The local forums allow me to interact with players I don't always interact with and be kept abreast of situations on other continents. I can find out what is happening on East Continent while I don't have a character there, and if something gets interesting I can make one. This is a positive for the game.
While I understand there are many negatives that have come out of the local forums, I firmly believe that these would be eliminated if they were simply moderated with harsh and quick action. Ad Hominem attacks receive fast deletion of posts, and moderation points. Forum suspensions, and bans to be handed out if people are an issue, without mercy. The forum isn't a part of the main game, so there should be no reason to go easy on this. The problem is that if you eliminate the local forums, you eliminate much of what keeps the passion going for some of your heaviest contributing players. It is these players, which I'll include myself in it, that are leading realms, making decisive things happen, and fueling the passion of those who aren't on the forum. Is it particularly healthy for the game that it is dependent upon such a group of players to keep it going? No. But, the game is practically dying anyway, and we don't need anymore reasons to take away interest of your most heavily invested players.
You seem heavily inclined to simply shut down part or all of the forum going into this thread to begin with. While I understand the reasoning, I caution you as well against the simple confirmation bias you may see here. While many have agreed with you. Many have also opposed your views. This action while it may seem like a simple solution to a large problem will have a domino effect that is difficult to fully grasp.
As a personal example: When I play battle-master I usually do so for hours at a time. Maybe 1 hour in the morning, and 2-4 hours in the evening. About half of this time is spent reading and writing letters. I usually write anywhere from 10-75 letters in a single day, sometimes from a single character when I am leading a realm and trying to build fun for other players. About 10% of that time is spent chatting on IRC with people in my realm to either set up RP's, discuss in-game events, or communicate quickly to make plans before sending the real letters in-game to confirm what we want our characters to do. The last 40% though is spent on the forums. I read what is going on with other realms, what people are saying about my realms, and what is being discussed to improve the game. I do this while thinking of what to write in my letters in-game. If the forums are removed, I'd have nothing to keep me held into the game for the long duration that I play, while I wait for letter responses. A large amount of time is sometimes needed by ruling characters and their players to really create a fun and engaging environment for their realm. This one person's efforts can positively (or negatively) effect a realm of 20, 30, 50, or 70 players. These players are also drivers for interactions with other realms and thus you have perhaps 10-15 players on a single continent which essentially control the flow of fun of your game. I would guess that a vast majority (perhaps 90%- made up statistic) of these rulers are played by players with forum accounts in the first two pages of # of forum posts.
If you inadvertently cut out the passion of this player base or don't find some other way to divert it and make it continue, you'll have cut out the legs of your game at the knee. A good ruler makes or breaks a realm's fun. I am not saying that there is an easy solution to this forum post problem, but I believe you could very easily create a far worse situation if this action proceeds without further consideration of its possible consequences.
-Silverfire
