Hi Blondie, I have enjoyed reading your post's ever since I joined.
For me, I noticed a change particularly when Trump was elected. The politics of the day were divisive and were debated at length here. Covid was another big non-jw issue that sparked a few heated debates.
There has always been the rogue apologist/ fundamentalist/ prophet that turns up from time to time to make life interesting.
Having said that, I think this forum still contains a lot of helpful people and of course, the reference material here would be hard to beat for anyone looking for answers. And yes, call me friend. 😀
As for Simon - our Canadian Overlord, I got the impression a few years ago he was happy to have some other topics discussed besides events pertaining to the JW world.👍