My, my, I seemed to have missed a lot while I was at work.
I have to agree that some of the discussions between others have gotten a bit too face to face, but I think this site still has meaningful discussions.
I agreed with most of what Prizes said and I think this site still has a future. To be honest, I've grown disinterested in most of the back-and-forth that goes on. I still like to post, but I, at times, don't feel the need to inject in some arguments. I believe that Golden Road has maintained the same level of meaningfulness that Invision has. Just like this site, Invision went through the same rough patch of discussion from Season 37-38, but I think that since I've joined, most of the ruckus has calmed down. There have been flare ups at times, but I still think this site has seen its worst days and passed them. As the show has found stable ground again, so has this site.
When it comes to the three recent obits (Jovan Belcher, Rick Majerus, and Dave Brubeck), I don't think it is fair to use those as a point that the obits in OILF are pointless (I know no one has used that word. It's my own). One was a news story that should've just been placed in the NFL thread, one was a highly respected college basketball coach, and one was a legend in jazz. It is pointless to say that the person given an obit is one you've never heard of because there is probably more than one person who has never heard of one person or another. Just because you or I haven't heard of them doesn't mean someone hasn't. Granted that just opens the flood gates for my friend's grandmother's cat to get an obit, but I think for most obits they're rightly warranted. As for the OILF games, I agree with Marc. They're a nice distraction for some folks and while wadding through them is certainly a chore, it doesn't bother me that much. Heck, I've participated in some of them (granted, it has been a while though).
When it comes to posting restrictions, I don't agree with getting access to certain sections of the site by posting, but I don't fully disagree with restrictions. I didn't mind the way they did at Invision when I joined. A new member's posts are moderated for a certain amount of time and when they prove to the moderators that they'll be fine on their own, they have their moderated status lifted.
I think Vader kind of hit the head on why some of the membership left. The show changed, so the site changed. Roger's involvement was huge for this site and gave it a unique draw. With Roger's departure and the somewhat stale animosity between this site and the show, be it through the site's fault or the show's, the site changed drastically in that regard. I think that while it was partly site rhetoric that drove some away, it was more the tone of the site and the show as they both moved on post-Roger.
Again, this site has a future and I think that we're still going forward towards it. What's going on @ Golden-Road.net? Progress. Like physically growing when you're a baby or a teenager, there is pain. I see the pain here as still trying to have civil discussion and I think it is moving forward. I have the patience to work through this, and I hope others have it too.