Online forums in general often have strange dynamics. This is the only local based board that I'm on. I would have thought that the closer and community oriented boards would be different, but really aren't. Online boards are often filled with many members who are full of awesome information to share with newbies. That's what I value and look for when I search forums. Feedback from those folks can save people in many ways. Time, money, keep them safe, etc. In the end, you're going to have people who want to do their own thing no matter what the rules, community says, etc. Again, being a locally based board, I would have thought that much of the times folks would police themselves, especially since we might run into each other here and there. I've met some awesome folks from this board, but I'll also admit that there are many that I really don't want anything to do with and I haven't even met them yet.
I am part owner of a firearms forum and used to be moderator on another national level board. On the one that I am part owner of now, we have a strict policy on no politics or religion. Any politics has to be DIRECTLY related to 2A issues. The non-sense that goes on with discussion on politics and religion tore the other board apart. This is in NO WAY a criticism of 2AHawaii as I believe the discussion of 2A issues here is important. Just sharing observations of discussions on politics and religion.
I enjoy talking about firearms, trying to help new folks, etc. However, discussion on firearms gets stale after a while as there isn't really anything new very often. Things get rehashed when a newbie comes on board. You'll have those that provide useful feedback, then you'll have the curmudgeons who either shut them out with "not another 9 vs 45 thread" stuff.
Online boards will always have differing opinions. I also see a lot of folks saying a lot that they would NEVER say to someone's face. On another board, we had this one problem member. Was actually a nice guy, but would just get his kicks off of arguing with folks, about anything. He was very good at it too and could often "rope a dope" in arguments and leave them looking stupid. Anyways, he would freely admit that he would often get his teeth pushed in when having discussions in public, so he learned to do it online. I see a lot of that here too.
I don't see things as an issue of moderators. Their board and their choice to run the board the way they see fit. I do see things as an issue of growing up. Don't get along with someone, ignore them. Don't agree with someone, spend a few minutes to try to understand their point and maybe you can learn something. Maybe not, but if you can't agree, go your own way. There are many here that I don't agree with and ignore. A couple in particular come up with all these irrational and illogical conclusions about everything. I've tried to point that out, but nowadays, unless they are saying something that could potentially lead to another member being unsafe, I'll just let them be. Not worth my time.