i'm still looking forward to the game, but the last trailer was trying a bit too hard with trying to get brownie points. it was quite odd to have so much focus on what will surely be a small part of the story, and the kiss itself was awkward. Since Anita met Neil, they have given Drake a daughter, had a spin-off with two female characters, made Ellie the protagonist of LoU2, and put an unnecessary focus on her being a lesbian. Until the last trailer, I didn't mind, because it didn't feel forced. Now it does a bit

But the rest of the game is looking great so I can overlook it

I'd be careful on not allowing discussions just because you don't like what is being said, especially if they're relevant to the thread. This site has already lost enough people as it is for various reasons. Being another ResetEra where you're largely an echo chamber isn't going to do this place any good. I'd argue that this place was at its most active and vibrant when people were just allowed to speak their mind.

ResetEra has over 10 million forum posts, this place has around 8.8 million, despite being around much longer. I think it is actually hurting rather than helping the situation.

ResetEra is just NeoGAF 2.0. A vast majority of NeoGAF posters migrated over. NeoGAF was always a bigger deal than VGC. VGC was actually started from someone who was banned from NeoGAF and created this site as a middle finger to it. ResetEra inherited the strength of NeoGAF in that it has industry insiders who post there and a ton of people who "no-life". It is also arguably the single largest congregation of left-leaning video game forum users. VGC had a strength in that it allowed for many types of discussions and people from both sides were allowed to openly post here as long as they weren't being incredibly offensive to individuals. When things started getting cracked down is when people started leaving. There were other reasons, sure, but that was a strong part of it. 

I think that's over-emphasizing the reasons for leaving, I'm pretty sure other factors (like the ones I mentioned earlier in this thread) have had a much bigger role in the matter. We also have to consider the people that get turned off by the current discussion (Leadified for one, is someone who left because he couldn't put up with it anymore, I would be the same too if I wasn't such a weakling).

This is something that has to be measured over a period of time in order to come to a conclusion. Naming a few examples does not necessarily represent that is the general trend. There can also be several other reasons why activity in this forum has been declining or it can be a combination of many factors that has contributed to the lower activity.

I'm going to have to agree more with Raven722 on this one considering that a forum is by definition, a public meeting place for open discussion. Trying to prohibit dissent goes against the principles of what a forum is supposed to be. Of course, there should be rules against meaningless mudslinging, but as long as opinions are expressed in a civil matter and not over the line (e.g. "Death to all ________"), they should be allowed.

My personal experience is quite different. I was a part of a decently-sized group of quite active members who left VGC and one of us started a new forum. Though it was attached to the video game he was making. The forum was quite active among us and we had even managed to get other VGC members to join us over time. Though not many, admittedly. For a few years that forum went well enough until the owner started cracking down on any discussions that were against people like Anita Sarkeesian. Basically, if our discussions weren't "left friendly" then he was afraid of being attacked by people like Sarkeesian over it. So he started deleting posts and locking threads. A number of us left at that very moment. That forum today is a shell of what it was and it's almost to the point where the forum owner is practically talking to himself. Some still post there but it's certainly a far cry from the activity it used to have. Also, we weren't the only group looking to leave. Another decently sized group was looking to start their own forum as well. Even offered us to join them. In hindsight that might have been a better option but unfortunately we didn't get along well with them in our time at VGC so we felt it would have been a disaster. I don't know what happened with them but I noticed that some of the ones who started that group don't appear to post much here anymore.

PS - What the hell happened to the text size?

PSS - Nevermind

A public meeting place? This site is privately owned, it's by definition not a public meeting place. I have no idea why wanting to allow discussion of racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, etc. discussion is such a priority, there would be nothing of value lost by prohibiting that. What is civil? If you look at the thread I posted, what do we gain from these types of posts? 

So even VizionEck has an off-shoot now? An off-shoot of an off-shoot of an off-shoot?

That is not mutually exclusive. The site is privately owned, but is also available for public view and does not charge money for creating an account. Hence, this forum is public, in practice.

And if you really think those posts are abhorrent, then why haven't you reported this to the mod team? You say one thing and yet, you don't act on it. It is one thing to say this opinion you don't agree with is an "-ist" or "-phobic" statement and not do anything else. It is another thing when you report comments that you perceive to be "-ist" or "-phobic" and make your case in the reports. Why bring these posts to me now when they should've been addressed already? You effectively contributed to the problem that you're complaining about.

Not to mention, what tripped you off was a mere disagreement. In addition, you gave oxygen to the dissent and brought more attention to it via the Streisand Effect. Disagree with GOWLOTZ? Explain why you disagree with his opinions. It's that simple.