Well… I’m a Warchant origin poster and didn’t move when the rivals switch happened. The low traffic started when the “locker room” went from free to paid. Also, the banning of politics basically killed it. Tough moderation issue as the board got more and more politically split, those topics dominated and were off putting, sparking lots of complaints. It was easier to shut it down.
I also think that online discourse has gotten more hostile over the years. Probably a reflection of a greater disparity nationally in political views and central actions relative to that (eg, perceived asymmetric law enforcement for politically motivated misbehavior). The shift in tone reflects the national vibe and a collective manifestation of, essentially, splitting.
You can see this on the Iowa board, for example, which has more traffic and many ex warchant posters. The tone is markedly hostile. There’s just more of it. Logical fallacies are also a dominant problem (not just at the Iowa board). And, you’ve got a lot of people arguing at strawmen. They can’t accurately represent the argument that they’re arguing against. Hostility + poor critical reasoning skills = contempt. Though, I suppose there’s an equifinality to contempt.
For example, one of our posters started this thread.
https://iowa.forums.rivals.com/threads/why-is-america-so-divided.443774/
Look at the responses. That’s much worse than anything going on tone wise here.