Maybe the problem with current events wasn’t in the majority of people who enjoyed interacting there, but in the moderation policy and the way the forum was set up? Thus far I’ve read a few rather weak complaints / criticisms -
1) the threads/posts showed up in what’s new lists
It should be fairly easy to configure things so that CE content doesn’t show up in these lists.
2) It was a pain to moderate and none of the moderators liked going in there
Maybe moderators should have chosen a few new moderators who did enjoy going in there to help moderate it? Maybe the moderation policy was flawed to begin with as well? Allowing a long rope for people to hang themselves with might not have been the right policy to apply to that particular forum.
3) influence of thanks / reputation
Remove the thanks button similar to the lounge, don’t let political forums add to number of member posts solves this problem.
4) SoWal has a “higher purpose”
If having forum with locals interacting on current issues they are passionate about isn’t a core purpose of SoWal, it should be.
5) We grew tired of every thread degenerating into this or that type of argument.
Again, a flaw in moderation policy for one, and two an issue where the wrong people were required to moderate something they didn’t enjoy reading.
Like many here I’m saddened by the loss of the forum. I enjoyed it very much. The forum was the meat on the plate for me, with local news, real estate, the occasional lounge or pictures & video thread being the appetizer or condiment. If the goal of shutting the forum down was to marginalize use of SoWal by people like myself - mission accomplished.