I'll add my $.02 to the status of the FBG forums. Joe and company, please accept this as constructive criticism and not a complaint, because everything I get from you is phenominal value for my $26-and whatever annual subscription.
I have noticed that the moderation of the boards has been more and more relaxed in the past few years. I seem to recall Joe stepping in to the bickering reminding us to "be excellent to each other", but not recently.
As with any successful business, FBG appears to have grown and attracted more people. I imagine moderating the forum requires more time than Joe, David, et al have time for.
I would suggest recruiting moderators to help patrol the bickering, personal attacks, and blatant off-topic junk. One word of caution there; being a moderator is a privilege, not a right, and I've seen just as many forums go downhill because of overzealous moderation as I have seen them be under-moderated.
Ideally I would like to see a slashdot-style forum where posts are user - modded up or down (or call it "liked" for the Facebook crowd.) This would allow us to glaze over the bad ("bickering") posts. I'm sure there is another off-the-shelf forum software that allows for this, although that's not my area of expertise.
As an alternative, or in the interim, I would recommend people start using that "ignore" list - when you find a poster continually not adding value, just ignore them. You'll be happier not to read the drivel, and they'll have one less person likely to respond to their post. (ie "don't feed the trolls.") I currently only have one person on my ignore list - I'll refrain from saying who - but I am happier for it.