Policy changes will be superficial if the root causes are not addressed.
Two years ago, I read a similar statement like gophert's post 55, concerning ETO. I've been here only a decade, so I don't know what the former glory days were like. The same with my short lived life of just over a decade at AAC. I do recall that AAC didn't have any "rules" in the beginning, other than the standard loosely termed boilerplate user agreements. I did have some input to the homework rules, as a common user, mostly because of my user experience in other social media.
What I do know is the forums only survive when users "participate". Without participation, they fade away. I see that happening at two forums I use to visit quite heavily. Gee, makes one wonder if I'm the problem.
I wish we didn't have to have user agreements, rules, and rules for moderators, to keep the whole herd in the pen, but, without the rules, it would be a free for all. I'm sure most users here have been to what some would call a "wild west" forum. I doubt the "wild west" was a wild as some imagine.
This does not mean AAC or ETO or any other forums have discovered the nirvana of rules and members, it only means that from time to time, the existing rules need to be examined for currency. Every time this subject is broached, I add to my research folder concerning forum rules and forum metrics. That keeps my one brain cell active.
As engineers and technicians, we do know the rush to market is the way for quick cash. Sustainability requires more thought and fluidity. One size never fits all.
I also know that you can be part of the solution by being a pig headed individual and not let someone run you out of a forum because of their problem, moderator or not.
Ever wonder why ETO has a recourse clause in their current rules and the user base here know it exists?
I've seen moderators get out of hand. I've seen forum administrators get out of hand. I'm witnessing the results of such heavy handedness at two forums.
We all must do what we must when it comes to our most precious resource, time. That is one intimately familiar limited resource.
There have been few users that test the tensile strength of our patience. RK, Billy Mayo, and associates plus their reincarnations certainly are distracting. Their numbers wouldn't make a pimple on a gnat's ass in the scheme of things. I don't expect to see them taking food off your table.