I disagree with 3, a social forum is a big up when I join a forum.
|
The reason people use a General Discussion is because people like to see places that appear full, with a lot of posts, posts for "The Person Above you" attract people to post easily and gradually post more. It might sound stupid but if people have a low post count and find it hard to post in some places it can make them go away and never come back.
|
There's usually an introductions forum where you can introduce yourself and have a nice off-topic discussion
I just find that the chit-chat section takes over as the primary focus in all of these new sites.