I agree with others that GN is a really good site with lots of caring and helpful posters. I haven't picked up any signals that it's a 'bad place' at the moment.
News and Politics is a bear pit though. However the missing posters weren't shy and retiring or meek and reticent. They could dish it out too. It's a partisan forum because people DO (because of the nature of politics) take sides. People do have to stand their ground. I am sure the missing posters will re-group in time or come back in a different guise.
Posters come and go for all sorts of reasons and it is easy enough to avoid forums that aren't to your taste.
How do you all manage to find out, so promptly, that people have left? I mean one day they were all posting and within a couple of days threads are started about them having left. They didn’t announce it did they? And there’s no members’ list to check
I found out, Bathsheba because durhamjen hadn't posted for a couple of days and when I tried to PM her to find out if she was OK the PMs wouldn't deliver. GnetHQ confirmed that she was no longer registered.
This is very sad. These posters were well-informed and I enjoyed reading what they had to say. I hope they have not felt driven away. I’ve only been on GN for 6 months and have noticed the increasing bad temper on the current affairs threads. Seems that soon GN will be all games....