I occasionally see certain kinds of threads where people complain how off topic has become a cess pool of handicapation and worthless jibber jaber along with bickering, and wish we could return to the "old days". Unfortunately, for anyone who thinks we can revert back, there are a few things which really can't be changed and should be taken into account:
1. Not everyone has an intelligence level which is equal or greater than yours. There will be idiots. Ignore them.
2. This is a section for discussing nearly anything, and since we can express opinions on all kinds of things here, which may cause debate. If you see that a debate will turn into worthless bickering, and feel annoyed by it, just ignore it and don't complain about it. You are just shining a spotlight on the crap.
3. Topic Fads: They will happen, just ignore them. You aren't forced to enter the topics. There are idiots that will fuel them, again, just ignore it.
4. If you feel mad that off topic has become garbage, don't get mad, get ahead, in a sense. Be an example of an intelligent, cool headed, well-mannered, contributive, and/or funny forum member. Others will surely follow your example.
There's a lot of threads that are obviously just people trying to troll and you guys feed them like crazy, then when someone insults your opinion you go "OMG TROLL"
^^^^^
Learn to realize that everyone that insults or even criticizes your opinion is not trolling you, although some might be. This goes along with being cool-headed.
There are probably things I forgot, feel free to mention them.