Duga, I agree with your original post. MB was nothing like the bitchfest it is, as you call it, when I first signed up. And people were merited by their discussion of music and what they had to share, rather than who is BFFs with who etc. It has become very cliquey meaning that it is difficult for new members to feel as though they can fit into the community. The reason why I often take long absences from the forum is because I just get sick of all the drama, I love music and discussing music, as well as other interesting topics that the forum and its members offer, but often I just feel like I'm stuck in a year 9 high school class.
I'm not sure what the solution to the problem is. Maybe you could take a harsher approach towards members who tend to derail threads and go off-topic. One thing I've noticed about MB lately is so many forums go completely off-topic with silly, nonsensical and pointless banter that doesn't even relate to the thread.
I'm not sure how I feel about removing Lounge threads from New Posts. I don't think it is the actual Lounge threads that are the problem, I think it is more so the posts within ALL threads of the forum that are bitchy and off-topic. Plus, I still like viewing the Lounge threads, I'm sure many other regular members do, too.
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