lulu, you're reading something i haven't written. as are you, daftpunk, if you were referring to me.
i personally think the gang threads make this a less amusing, less free-for-all sort of a place. when you've got groups of friends chit-chatting in and out then that is bound to (and i've seen people admitting to this when i've brought it up previously) make people reluctant to disagree with their friends. at the extreme end, it makes people rush to agree with their friends and can cause unpleasant pile-ons.
that's not to say that some of them are unwelcoming (although some treat their threads quite bizarrely as little fiefdoms). i just don't want to have to go on them to find people i like, who previously posted more generally.
i've only been here for, what, nearly three years, but the boards were more inclusive then. it's probably a function of size, but i don't have to like it. i've seen the names of the people who post on the veggers threads, the teashop etc, and i'd rather they posted more often in the body of the kirk. that's why i mentioned them specifically. as far as i'm concerned, i'd like to see more of lissie and franny for example, not less.
same goes for the moldies, of course... i wish that didn't exist either.