WARNING: Long and ranty (TL;DR near bottom)
So I've been coming here almost every day since Feb of 2007, and it's been a great ride. I've always loved these forums and the users who made it what it WAS. Therein lies my problem. This forum does not seem to be what it was when I first arrived, not even close. I came looking for sales at the beginning of the last console generation, and that's what I got. I kept lurking to stay up on the sales and eventually was drawn in by the incredibly varied cast of "characters" that were present on these forums. Yes there were still fanboys that would go through hell and back to defend their consoles, but they were much further and farther between.
The meat of the forums seemed to be the rich sales analysis and predictions that occurred and the interesting game related and off topic conversations that filled the intermediary between game releases. Back when I started we still had graphics comparisons and other issues that broke down into the ramblings of fanboys, but the mods had them in check. It was actually tolerable reading through the forums as the comments were mostly thoughtful and very often funny responses. They actually added to the discussion without the perceived attacks on any side of the console camps.
Now lately I am only really able to check sales data on the front page and read the titles of the topics because I get frustrated by the level of fanaticism of users or the fighting that occurs. I know that vgchartz has grown beyond sales and has attracted a different type of forum goer who probably didn't come here for the same reasons I did. I know the new console generation has begun and fanaticism seems to be at its highest, but so many threads are about why the other console sucks, or if you think your console /game is great, you get beaten down for having an opinion. I've just gotten too frustrated by all of it.
Now my rose tinted glasses may be a tad thick here. I really hope there is a place for people to express their opinions without provocation from another side. Are sales discussions, predictions, and analysis going to make a comeback with the new generation? I just wish there was less of a need for people to fight each other, and instead discuss what makes gaming great and what makes people buy the games and systems they do.
TL;DR - I've probably been here for too long but my nostalgia keeps me here, hoping to return to a simpler time when we could discuss intelligently, and not attack each other. I just wish for less hate between the console sides so we can read thoughtful discussion without being bogged down in extreme fanboism. If that’s too much to ask, any suggestions on where that might be found?
AND Maybe I'm completely wrong, and it's been here all along. I must have just lost it along the way. It just seems that when an article comes here that has great potential for discussion, it's already bogged down in BS comments that it's not worth it trying to make your way through it.
