As someone who occasionally goes on Resetera, I agree with your points when you said that nobody was making friends there. Every thread has some people butting heads and baiting each other to feel morally superior. It all feels very condescending and there's almost no discussions to be had there, has the place always been that way? Do people actually like being there?
Coasting on the vibes that carried NeoGAF originally, which was that it used to be a forum where all the big games media press people would post at. Posting at GAF gave you the ability to say you were rubbing elbows with industry celebrities.
Era continues that trend but the landscape has changed so much that it doesn't really matter anymore. But the notion that Era is "important" still continues regardless. And it still attracts celebrities who only know it by that dusty old reputation.
But a lot of people only post there because they have big heads and think they're the main character.
