>>154689
What you've written is quite interesting (most of it I can understand), but one comment I have:
>A rule should be followed when the people want it to be
The one assumption is that "the people" are a homogenous monolith that can all agree on whether a rule is "wanted". There are sites where the userbase is like that, but what happens when they can't agree? How do you decide whether to implement a rule one side craves it and the other fears it?

Of course, you did give a solution:
>If you are unhappy with a forum with rules you believe are too strict, install SQL and some software on a box and do one better.

I do wonder what might happen if this is taken to the extreme. Will there be a reversion to old internet style Geocities/Angelfire personal web pages, where each person controls their own insular website/blog on things they like, and communication is by email servers/guestbooks hosted on their site?
If a certain section of the internet like that exists, I might like to explore it . I know Neocities amd FC2 has something similar.