I would like to answer you last question first, with out doubt it is the second. In my 8 or 9 years here on LSC I have observed a shift in the forum. I have observed the growth of the forum in numbers of members, and a growth in the diversity of personalities and knowledge. I have also noticed an increase in the number of 'eggsperts' in everything.
Our hobby, like many others, offers a variety of products at many different levels of cost and quality. I personally own equipment in the full range from American Scientific (all the way on the bottom of the cost and quality scale) to Accucraft (pretty much the pinnacle of price and detail). What I find interesting in my experience is that they all have issues that need to be addressed. I think what makes a site, a site you want to return to is how questions are answered by the members of the site.
In your post, you comment that site one you feel at home. I interpret this to mean that a question will be answered by the members in a direct and positive manner. In other word, in stead of saying as in your example "Your cheap Widget is really poor quality. You want to stop wasting time modifying it, and save your money for a quality Widget" this could have been answered something like this "The widget you are working with has a reputation for not being very durable. Investing time and money here may be disappointing in the long run. I would suggest working with a higher quality widget if you can afford one. Now on to your question ....." This answer in my opinion says the same thing, but not using 80 grit sand paper to say it. And if you are going to post in that light, continue on to answer the OP question, even if you think it is a less than optimum solution.
I believe there is always two ways to approach a subject. Either the glass is half empty of the glass is half full. With that in mind, I will post answers to questions if I have information that I believe will add value to the thread, otherwise I will not post at all. And if the post has any form of process to it, I will usually start by telling the folks that this is the process I use and is not necessarily the ONLY precess. As in most things there is more than one way to 'Skin the cat', we should all remember that. I always try to keep things in a positive note, negativity does nothing to improve a topic. The only time I would consider making a negative post is if I saw something that would, without doubt, end up disastrous. And I haven't seen any of those yet.
Referring back to my first paragraph, I have watched this site loose many good modelers who have either taken their skills off line or just don't bother to post at all for fear of the 'eggsperts' having their say. I think this has cost this site a tremendous resource. I miss the build threads that used to be abundant here, where I learned a lot about large scale and modeling as a whole. I most miss the sharing of tips, tricks, and techniques that those modelers have taken with them. Some are still here and post occasionally (and cautiously), some have gone and only lurk silently in the back ground to keep up with folks they are friends with.
I don't have a magic bullet solution for this situation, and I certainly don't envy Bob having to deal with it. I had hoped the Reputation system would help mitigate this issue, but even there the 'eggsperts' found a way to abuse that as well. One time before, Bob threatened to take the site down, and at that time quite frankly I supported that thought. I wonder if it is time for that threat again? Or maybe the ultimate, do it.
My dad used to tell me that 'Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people'. I will close with the question 'Which one are you?'
