Just want to chip in my 2 cents.
First of all, I like how SDF is managed currently in general. That is, separate the primary military subforums from the rest of the non-military ones and moderate them differently. SDF has grown from a very niche place for a small community of enthusiasts in PRC military equipment and its associated development to become a forum with much wider-ranging topics related to China and beyond. I felt that this is a natural evolution and development. But SDF still remains the best and biggest China-focused defense forum in English language. Let us not forget this fact. The biggest driver of the changes is simply the rise of China and the explosive growth of Chinese defense technologies, and its influence and impact on the wider world. We could ignore all these changes and their impact and bury our heads deep into the sometimes long-winded, detailed technical discussion on 054B and its speculated sensor suite, or various AShMs, for example. Or we can discuss these AND also AUKUS and its pivotal nuclear submarine deal within the broader geopolitical context (Hint: it has a lot to do with China and Chinese military development).
Secondly, the rise of China and growth of its military have also brought in a lot more interest and new members and visitors. It turns out that these new members are disproportionately ethnic Chinese or Asians or others who tend to show a certain "pro-China bias," or more precisely non-Western views. These may cause some discomfort to some western people or people who generally share western views. These should NOT be grounds for closing the relevant subforms or banning the threads, even though I'm also opposed to some of the more extreme or radical views and in favor of disciplining them when certain lines are crossed. In other words, embrace the changes which reflect the rise of China and are representative of the member base. Ultimately, the owner of SDF shall decide whether it is in his/her interest to continue to fund this website in its current form.
Lastly, I'd like to share a few words or some friendly advice with people/members who are not comfortable or in general disagree with the general sentiment reflected in the non-military subforums/threads. One is that you always have the choice of not visiting those subforums or threads. I became a SDF member almost a decade ago (and had been surfing much longer) and had never visited the non-military subforms or threads before last year. Frankly I didn't even know what chat room was for nor was I interested. Last year, you know, was a special year and many people suddenly got a lot more time to kill. I began to visit/participate in some of those threads that interest me. The net result is that I spent more time and contributed more to both military and non-military threads, relatively speaking. But you certainly can survive without visiting non-military threads, based on my own experience. Two, you can also contribute your opinions and views in these threads if you don't agree with someone or the prevailing sentiment there. You're as equal as anybody else there. Three, if either of the above two options still leave you feel uncomfortable, think about it in this way: these members that do not share your worldview in general are mostly highly educated people and come from different parts of the world with diverse personal backgrounds, they give you a window into a world that is very different from your MSM or western-view dominated forums and social media. Maybe you can learn something different for a change. Maybe these people can also have their corner of the world.
