To be fair, the chatroom forum came about because of change going on and chatters coming into the forums and being unable to help, the forumites and chatters have ALWAYS been divided, even back in the IRC chatroom days.
There was as much animosity towards forumites going into the chatroom originally. I (and Morbius) were huge IRCers back in the day and I remember feeling extremely put out when I first started going into the chatrooms (Steve & Shireen were about the only people I remember being friendly to me at the time). Then the chatrooms moved to a different interface and things got better to a degree, but by that time I was well and truly put off and became a forumite. The chatrooms are now the biggest part of the site and did fairly kill off some of the forum madness.
I wouldn't say I was bullied but there were distinct cliques in there, as has been accused of the forumites, which I get but we were all new once and we made friends by joining in.
I also understand that there are a number of in jokes such as goldfish and hijacks. The threads bumped often explain these jokes, albeit meaning that you have to wade through pages of twaddle. The hi-jacks are par for the course but again, if people weren't so quick to take offence, they quickly revert back when someone else reads and comments.
The forums I remember from my more prolific time here were silly, funny, flirty and people were a lot friendlier overall. Whereas I can understand some saying they came here for sex and not friendship, I'm now at a point where I want friendship moreover sex, but if a friendship grew then I wouldn't count out returning to swinging. I want to have fun and flirt with people and it's really difficult to do that on Daily Mail led posts!
Yes I've been absent, if you want to know why I'm happy to say in PM and yes, most of the friendships made here, I have on Facebook or Twitter, but you know, my kids are on there and coming back here allows me to let go a bit and return to the old me before real life kicked my ass!
The returners have reacted (with fire) to comments made, I'll agree but Paddy, we never started it, we were told in no uncertain terms to clear off and that we were has-beens! The people who stirred that hornets nest are laughing their socks off I bet at all the reactions.
The returners have stopped dragging up old threads so much and new threads are being posted, how can it still be said that it's regression?
I wonder how if an influx of newbies had come along and started getting on, laughing joking and making their own in jokes, it would be viewed?