Because I have to be here. Smeags locks the exit so I can't leave.

Be merciful O Mighty Smeags!

I'm going to be completely honest here, since you asked, and this is what the discussion is about.

I have absolutely no idea why I keep coming back. At first I was attracted to the site because of the charts and the constantly revolving "hot topics" section. But over time I've grown to really hate it here. Primarily there are a a lot of users who just post thread after thread after thread, and it's just a big contest to ask every question about every game in every different combination of words to get more points and attention. The mods are strict, so the trolls are very subtle, and everyone gives them all the attention they want, even after admitting that they're trolls. Some days it seems that every thread I click is by the same two guys. Some days every thread is a semi-sarcastic semi-joke. Or everything is rife with flamebait that's just not quite obvious enough to get modded. And when I have a critical opinion of something, it seems like I can never open my mouth without getting dogpiled by a bunch of blind fanatics who just lack the ability to think critically or even have a mature discussion, so 90% of the time I just hold my tongue, which defeats the entire purpose of the forum. I really don't like it here. It's stale and filled with trolls who are tolerated and it only seems to make me mad.

Yet I KEEP COMING BACK. I tell myself it's to check the charts, but every time I come I click a bunch of topics, and I just piss myself off. I really can't tell you why I keep doing it. It's honestly a mystery to me. If I don't like it I should just leave, right? Well here I am anyway. It's like choking down all the cherry Starburst and wondering why I keep reaching for more. I have no one to blame but myself.

(Man, I'm going to get it good for all this, aren't I?  XD)

Because I have no life

Soooooo.... the forums are like the video game version of Buzzfeed?

XBE and the people in there, and VGC Sales numbers.  

News is an extra but the snide remarks and people with not so hidden agendas puts me off

Thankfully I've managed to stay far away from Buzzfeed, haha.

Bless your heart. That sight is probably the biggest time waster sight I (sadly) visit. Core definition of "clickbait." And I visit a website called iwastesomuchtime.com

I dunno.

Good people. People who give a damn about the community and who are willing to help it, help each other, or just generally make it a more pleasant place to hang.

It's what keeps me motivated to stay a mod: i want to arrest the decline of good users as far as is able, or at least try to reform poor users.

The money.. You guys don't get paid by ioi to keep the forums alive during 8:00 till 18:00 GMT??