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Even though I basically said it in my +rep message to you, I want to repeat here that I appreciate your taking the time to write all of that up. It shows a lot of consideration on your part, even going so far as to look into the history of the policy.
I'll repeat something that I mentioned to relentlessflame: we all want the same thing. We all desire to have "high quality" discussions take place in the forum, and to be able to engage in them. It is because I don't perceive the amount and level of discussion that I would hope for that I started this thread, and a similar perception is what lead to the creation and extension of the policies that are in place today. The sad reality that all of us must face is that no matter what is done, "high quality" discussions will likely always be in the minority. No amount of rules and structure will encourage those types of discussions; similarly, infinite freedom would not, either. It is up to the users to generate that sort of discussion. I think that AnimeSuki does much better than other forums in that regard - it's what attracted me to and kept me at this forum nine years ago - but perhaps it's impossible to push it further. I say that because I also recognize that "high quality" is a highly subjective term (as is "low quality" or "silly").
In addition to the solutions that you mentioned, NightWish, there are some others. As relentless and I previously discussed, the forum is currently in "flat" mode. If "threaded" mode were enabled, long and concurrent discussions within threads would become much more organized and easier to track. It would have consequences for forum navigation, however, and probably on server load, all for what would essentially just be turning threads into sub-forums.
If social groups are an intended outlet, then they should go a bit farther. Have their discussions show up in forum searches, make them have subscriptions that show up in the control panel, and find a way to elevate their profile - perhaps have a thread in each sub-forum that lists all pertinent social groups. For those series that don't have their own sub-forum, have the list in the first post of that thread.
While those are suggestions that could possibly work, I see a theme between the two of them: they are work-arounds to the restrictions imposed by the current system. Are the restrictions really so necessary? When I think back to when I joined the forum, which I'll admit did have rules that were more strict than most other forums at the time, the real appeal behind it, the factor that raised the quality of discussions, had less to do with the rules and more to do with the users. While most anime forums were frequented by users in their young teens, it seemed that the average AnimeSuki user was somewhere between the late teens and early 20's. Even today, I am pleased to see that if anything, the average age has likely increased since that time. It may be a generalization, but I think that few would argue that the level of sophistication of discussion increases with age. It is partly for that reason that I am not advocating for full, forum-wide removal of the restrictions, because I recognize that the average age of certain sub-forums is likely much lower. Additionally, being over the age of 20 doesn't make you immune to starting ridiculous threads, and areas with a lot of traffic would be more prone to that.
While I'd be happy to discuss more specifics and possibilities of how things are, why they are the way that they are, and how things could be, I get the sense that there's a general fatigue setting in over this issue. Or perhaps I'm just getting fatigued with it.
What I'd like to leave off with, then, is to give a message to the staff overall (anyone who served over the past nine years, or will be serving in the future). Having come here for more than enough years to earn a PhD with, the forum has taken on a different meaning to me than it did in my early years. I'm truly grateful to those of you who volunteer the time and effort to keep the forums alive, thriving, and advancing. I hope that you are all still able to enjoy the forums and community as I have and continue to.
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