Okay, so lemme get this straight... We had fun before, when there weren't any of those threads. Now we're also having fun, but those threads are here. Except now we need those threads in order to have fun.
That probably wasn't right. Mind explaining it?
Of course we don't
need certain threads to have fun, we've just wound up turning some of them into running jokes. The only difference between the wacky ones and other threads is that the joking has nothing to do with the original topic. Frankly, if that bothers you, why do you look at them? And if you don't look at them, why does it bother you?
Beyond that, how is joking around unintelligent? Many of the jokes in the Build a Pyramid and - threads rely on a well developed sense of humor and vast library of references. Even the HOLY ARMOK thread, and Tibble's other ones, are funny for just that reason, the great self-consciousness about the whole thing. They're
ironic, not
moronic.
And Various Nonsense is not a section for moronic threads. It is a section for topics that are unrelated to Dwarf Fortress, Liberal Crime Squad, Armok I, or other products of Bay12 Games.
The thread you listed as your personal gripe is a friendly, humorous discussion of people's avatar pictures. That's
exactly the kind of off-topic thread a Various Nonsense section is for. If you don't think so, then what sort of off-topic topics do you think
are appropriate?
Now, I've only be here since June, but the only difference I've noticed is an slight upswing in overall activity, and of course the abundance of RTDs, which I also dislike but just for the clutter. If the forum has gotten 'dumber' its not exactly recent.