I've participated in forums for a long time now...started with research to buy a popup camper trailer years ago. Since then I've found it a great way to socialize with folks with a similar interest & I've made thousands of posts on several different forums over a wide range of topic areas. I always try at least to be reasonable, polite, helpful
Anyway, I've always had a tendency to think of threads as campfire discussions...
logging in is like pulling up a chair to a campfire....there's a conversation happening. You chime in or you just sit and listen.
maybe starting a thread is like lighting a campfire and starting a conversation...and seeing if anyone wants to pull up a chair.
conversations will naturally drift and that's ok. Sometimes a question might be directed to a specific person or group, but others will respond...sometimes bringing helpful perspective that would have otherwise never even been thought about.... or sometimes it might just bring humor or interest. Sometimes it's derailing, but that's ok.
Sometimes the fire that is lit is small...made with just a few twigs...and the question or comment seeding the discussion won't result in much...not many folks will want to pull up a chair. A specific question such as how much does a Black Diamond item number BD11221100001251 trekking pole weigh? There really is only one answer...or maybe two.... book weight and actual...and so one or two responses and the conversation is dead. It either drifts, or the few folks that pulled up a chair will pickup and move to a different fire pit...and the fire goes out.
Other times barn burner bonfires are lit....
The only real issues I see are the occasional off color or downright rude person that'll ruin the party...or when the topic drifts so far into some unrelated but very good topic that it really should be a new thread (so that folks will understand by the title what it is about).
I find it very curious when some folks on these discussion forum web sites look at these things in a very different way. Like the OP "owns" the discussion. "Don't sit at my campfire unless you have owned ____."...or, "don't bother opening your mouth unless you have actually done ____."
It's a very rigid perspective..... question asked, answer given, close the thread..... comment made, a few responses given, that's it I'm not interested in what anyone else has to say on the matter, close the thread.....
That's all ok I guess, and it fits well when the question is very basic and specific such as what is the actual volume of a certain model backpack....but otherwise it' just a different paradigm than my own.... one I don't find very constructive, happy or welcoming.
How do you look at it?