And in this way, the site has been recently captured, to some degree, by users more interested in hype than substance. Increasingly, the rational voices have been voted down and marginalized.
Actually IMO, the site has been that way from early on if not day 1. I've been watching it closely from day 1. The indymedia models were similar in the anything goes design and so quickly were drowned in no-plane and hologram hoaxes to the point where most indymedia editors refused to allow discussion at all or trashed people on those threads at any opportunity because they were so turned off to the lunatic bunch we appeared to be.
This was an important loss for the movement, that venue. But most indymedias themselves have been destroyed internally also. The model was flawed. But the fact is, the only reason the numbers of posts asserting HOLOGRAMS would climb so high is due to a campaign or an intentional targeting. Those supporting holograms, pods and missiles are far less than those who don't, but if one side has an endless budget . . .
In the US, the opposite side of a 'truth' movement will likely have an endless supply of cash, time and bodies, so the Big Tent model will always easily drown out the important and real stuff, and replace it with whatever will work best to tank the movement. This is fact, unfortunately.
We saw in the votes for Fetzer when the Scholars group split from him, how tiny his support actually was, but we -- as a committee -- were being slammed daily with attack emails from the supporting gang, making it look like there was support. The real people gave him almost zero support.
The Big Tent model is completely vulnerable (if not designed) to failure in the context of any truth effort in the US.
The reason this forum works is that moderators know the situation, and aren't afraid. I assume that's evolved from experience. So there is one real forum out here. I know of no others, unfortunately. Richard Gage has a new forum for his site but it is specialized and already is allowing the worst of the worst, despite my pleas. They have good intentions and will improve, but at this moment there is at least one no-plane-at-the-WTC promoter on there, as well as the concrete core columns guy who was kicked off the pods forum long ago and blocked from the scientific areas of the STJ forum. People have to learn in their own way, unfortunately. And disinfo promoters are experts at manipulation.