Before I begin, let me preface this by saying that I have been a long-time member of this site, in excess of five years. When I first joined in 2011, I didn't expect to stay for long. I was going through a brief obsession with The Lion King following its revival in theaters, and I came to this forum as a place to talk strictly about that. I stayed much longer than I ever intended--not because I have some desire to talk about the movies and characters every day, but because I enjoy chatting with the many people I've met here. The people here were friendly and welcoming, and despite the drama that would occasionally arise, I quickly found this site to be a second home.
I've found it depressing that, over the years, we've had so many members go. Many grew bored or tired of this site, and left for completely understandable reasons. Many have been banned or forced out for misbehavior. Regardless of the reasons, we've come to the point where a great number of the long-time members are no longer here, and there is a lack of newcomers flooding in to replace them. As a result, the quantity of active members has continued to go down, year after year after year. Back when I first joined, roleplaying used to be extremely active, for instance. We had graphics design contests every week, as well as fanfiction contests and neat things like MLK radio on special occasions. Now, the activity has dropped and excitement all over the board is so low, the board is nothing even comparable to what it was before.
Guys, if this continues, what will this site be like in two more years? What about five more? How much longer will it be before the activity level is just so low, the whole forum goes under?
If we want this site to be the happy, healthy, and lively place that it has been in the past, we need to be welcoming to new members, as well as forgiving of older ones. Pretty much everyone on this site has said or done something worthy of being banned at some point or another--that much is an inevitability when you've been part of a community for so many years. Members have made mistakes, and at large, most of us have forgiven them over the years. On the other side, the mods have made mistakes, and we've forgiven them too. I understand there will always be drama from time to time, but this is the general attitude I've come to expect from this community.
Earlier this year, I thought MLK was making a nice revival when we had members like Amanda, Kops, and Malibu come back after so long. I would love to see us continue in this direction. With so many long time members gone for good, and hardly anyone coming to replace them, I believe this forum could be much more lively for many years to come, if we all just step back and take a more friendly and relaxed attitude. I've noticed tensions have been too high as of late, and if I'm to speak my mind here and offer my two cents, I just don't think it's necessary. We're a community comprised largely of adults now, and the overwhelming majority are really cool people who have made this place the amazing forum that it is.
Being weary and banning long-time members the moment they do something questionable is one contributing factor to the problem, not a solution. Returning members such as Claws, Amanda, and Malibu have added so much to the forum, and do not deserve to be banned on the spot. As a former moderator, I understand how tempting it is to give certain people the boot whenever some conflict arises, but that's not what's good for the community as a whole. Speaking from my own experience, there were times when I banned people on this forum thinking I was doing the right thing in the moment--but in hindsight I turned out to be very wrong. I strongly encourage the current staff not to make those same mistakes.