First of all, I'm not trolling, but this is just something I need to get off my chest.
Earlier tonight I went through a few threads in the Houston forums from 2011 and this was definitely a different day and time. People got along, since some of us came over from ASPD most of us knew each others board persona.
Then I went through some threads from 2016 and there was sis chaps running his mouth about this and that. By this time, some of the old timers who were supposedly big deals from ASPD started trolling big time.
I don't care what anybody says, all of these forums need moderation. The ladies can't advertise, so most ladies have moved on to another site. I've often stated that there is a fine line between heavy handed moderating and too loose moderating. There is no doubt in my mind that the moderators have spent many hours moderating the Houston forums and I thank them for their time and effort.
I guess that people have learned to game the system and this site goes further downhill day by day. If we could move all the political threads to the national forums and out of the sandbox, this would be a good start. If we could perma-ban the trolls, and most of us know who they are, this would be another step in the right direction. Outside of the reviews, how many members are really active in the Houston forums now? Five to ten? How many women are really active in the Houston forums? A hobby board isn't a hobby board without the ladies participation.
One thing positive, and it isn't much, is that the search function works well. There is a library of good and positive things that go back to 2009-2010, and some of the results may help even though it's 10 years later.
It's a shame that this site is now failing so miserably. It started off with such promise and I personally felt that this could be an ASPD part 2, but it isn't meant to be. Rather it was, but no longer. I also realize some new laws were enacted that helped bring these forums down, and that's not anybodies fault.
Like I said, this is just one man's opinion and not to be overly critical. At the end of the day, I'm just disappointed.