[SpiritWarrior]

That's like asking why someone watches TV. If it's interesting it's gonna attract people. It doesn't have to be conflict-ridden to be interesting, but then, if it's a simply matter of copying and pasting news articles on the forum all day, why not just hit the news sites rather than hitting the forums?

The back-seat moderation is also an issue, one which causes more problems than solves. People tend to moderate and steer threads in what they deem as an "acceptable" direction, even though they really have no business doing so. The moderators do that, and do it enough IMO that anything more is considered a crowd. I have seen people ganging up on particular members here just because they disagree with the person, and have taken it unto themselves to prove an opinion invalid.