You know what surprises me?
First the OP says that age =/= maturity, then starts about how Menewsha and Gaia have (mostly) the same user age. As It was already stated by OP that age is not the same thing as maturity, so I'd say that commenting on the similar average user age does nothing to prove any point that the OP might be trying to make.

So basically, first stating that age and maturity are not equal, than saying that while a lot of Menewshans seem to be proud of the fact that the community attracts more mature members, the age range is almost exactly the same.
Did not really help your point.

Then this, where by the use of 'either' in the first line, the OP refers back to the age range point, giving the suggestion they are somehow connected, whether or not intentional.

Further, the kind of topics discussed here vary highly per subforum. May I be so free as to assume that the OP has based their opinion mostly on the GD, which - as has been said before - is somewhat a transition from Gaia to Mene?

Further, I must agree that if you take the exact number of mature topics and/or discussions, Gaia is likely to have more, simply because they have I don't know how many more threads in their forums in the first place. If you go and check percentage, I'm willing to assume that it looks different already. However, I do not feel like checking every single Menewshan and Gaian thread to see if they are or are not showing any kind of maturity.

However, I base my assumption on the percentage difference mostly on the fact that a bunch load of topics filled with the word BUMP is not exactly mature. I do not say that it is necessarily immature to bump, but considering as how the OP has more or less defined immature threads as
I'd say that by those criteria, all bumping threads are to be called immature, as are all spamming and picture drop threads. Unless, of course, the OP believes that a thread with little to nothing but bumps is not 'void of any real meaning'?

If I have to derive a meaning of mature off the OPs definition of immature, I'd say that a thread which shows maturity is anything that is not completely void of any real meaning. Of course, let's make this a bit smaller and say that a thread which shows maturity, according to the OPs criteria, is a thread which is not void of any real meaning.

Then there is still the matter of 'what is real meaning?', but I fear that the OP has not given their opinion on what is and is not, so I guess I'd have to go by my own criteria.

Let's see. I'll be so free as to not consider Announcements, Bugs and Information Desk in the equation, because these forum parts are solely used to make notion of changes or to let the staff know there are problems, or to ask questions about the site.
First forum to consider, then.
Feedback. There are actually helpful feedback threads here, that spur good discussion on whether or not something is actually desirable for this site. Staff looks into those threads, talks with the members and tells us when something suggested is either already planned or likely to never be implemented.
Yes, there are several double threads, going on about the same topics that have been discussed a lot of times already, but there are quite a few useful topics there too - topics I would call mature, for they are not 'answering the same questions by the same people', nor are they 'completely void of any meaning'.

Now, compare this to the Gaian Feedback forum. On the first page I saw two non-stickies that had something along the line of 'DEV reply' in it. That alone suggests that it is something special to get a reply from a staffmember. A quick count on the first page alone showed me seven threads about spelling errors on the site, five topics about Monthly Collectible suggestions, eleven requests towards staff to either keep a tighter leash on the forums or to fix them.
Same issue: multiple threads about the same topics. However, a quick peek in a few of those threads reveals that most of those threads I checked have little conversation that goes further than 'bump', 'YES' or 'agreeee!'.
There also is little to no reply from staff.

I can continue this way on all the other forums, and I will do so if you want me to, but I do hope this somewhat proves my point.


Again, the GD is a transition spot to get those that come from Gaia used to the Mene way of things. How it is more valuable to the community? It prevents people from creating endless bump threads because they want to make a few posts and can't find a thread to quickly reply to.
Also, the Menewshan GD has a rule to check if there is already a thread with similar nature to the one you want to create.

So the main difference is that there are several of those picdrop and namedrop threads while per subject there is only one here. So unlike at Gaia, even the GD is not cluttered up with endless repeat topics. There are some useful threads in the GD that actually promote (light-hearted) discussion (the heavier discussion goes into debate, after all) and they're not almost impossible to find, like it is at Gaia, where those topics that would have been worth your time have to be bumped almost constantly to keep up, thus losing their value.

...but posting the same picture or four letters over and over again is indicative of maturity?

And no, witnessing spam does not 'send me into a frenzy', but I do prefer not having to search a thread about topic a in a forum cluttered up by threads about topic b (or rather, 'topic' bump).

In our community I will sum up lacking of maturity in a nice simple manor.

Spam = Greed = immaturity =/= maturity.
Gaia = Full of greed = more immaturity.
Menewsha = Less greedy = more maturity.

Make sense? Also... on gaia if you'll notice, those 50+ users don't generally post outside of their groups so I've been told, yet here they post very often. That alone is proof it is more immature on gaia even if just a little.

On a final note I'd like to mention the fact that you forgot one important detail. Most of the users who quit gaia are at the least mature enough to realize what kind of site it is, and are attracted by our environment. Some of those users themselves have commented on the site's maturity.

Poet: In fact, even several people that post here and haven't quit Gaia comment on its maturity.

While self-proclaimed maturity often does shoot itself in the foot, as...you've seen here, I feel you're not really giving the site a chance. The fact is, there is a great difference between here and Gaia.

1. - We have a much greater administrator/moderator presence here than Gaia - on Gaia, most of my experiences with authority have felt like they're simply robots labeled "MOD," with few exceptions. It makes sense, of course - the site is huge and they're busy (the site is too big for its britches if you ask me), but here, we're not shorthanded - if there is a sign that the community is getting too big for the number of moderators on site, more are appointed ASAP, hand-picked based on their activity around the site. The result is a much greater presence of authority, administrators and moderators who have time to enjoy the site like everyone else (a few of our wonderful AAs are kind enough to go around handing out advice in the Life Issues forum - hugs to them!), rules that are enforced equally for everyone since everyone gets caught...and as a result, the immature usually give up and weed themselves out, as they are the ones who cannot follow the rules.

2. - ...no offense intended, but your example of small talk vs. picdrops isn't a very good one. Good conversations and discussions can come from a very simple question - having such a thing come from a picture is a great deal rarer. Not unheard of (hell, someone's signature picture on here started a rather long PM conversation fairly recently), but not as common as a good discussion originating from small talk.

3. - Not all Menewsha users are horribly offended at the sight of spam. I don't know where you got that impression, but most of us will just kindly, civilly tell someone who is breaking our spam rules that what they're doing is against the rules, to keep them from getting themselves in trouble. If this were the case, there would be no people who use both Menewsha and Gaia, but I know several people who are on both sites and have a few accounts over on Gaia myself. I'm sorry that you seem to have gotten the wrong impression.

4. - Perhaps the biggest sticking point, we have no tolerance for serious rudeness here. On Gaia, it is not at all difficult to go and find a flamewar and nothing being done about it. Here, you see someone being an ass to you (or ANYONE for that matter), you report it, and it'll get taken care of pretty damn quickly. On Gaia...it's against the rules, yes, but it takes forever to get it dealt with, and that's IF they deem it serious enough in the first place. At least, that's been my experience, maybe I've just been unlucky, but still...
The difference is most evident in the Life Issues forums - you look in that forum on Gaia, you see trolls. You look in that forum here, you see only people offering actual help, or at the very least wishes of good luck. In the rare event that a troll does show up, they're swiftly banned.

But, don't take my word for it. Stick around and give the site a little more of a chance, see if you see what I mean later on down the line.

No, it's not synonymous.

But speaking in general terms, increased age does correlate with increased maturity.
Older doesn't just mean older. It means increasing responsibilities and increasing life experience for most.

Even if someone thinks they're mature at 14, they cannot deny they will be more mature at 20.

And more mature at 30, and more mature at 40...I certainly thought I was adult and mature when I was in my mid 20s. When you live on your own and have a job and run your own life how can you not be? But 10 years further on I can look back and remember how I felt and thought about some things and shake my head in dismay...

No matter how old you get, the growing up and learning process never stops. Though admittedly for some it never seems to start xD

I do consider this site more mature for one main reason: Much less spamming! I don't have to block half of the people on each thread just get to the point at hand. That is very refreshing to me.

Agreed. It's the way people act that defines how mature they are or aren't. I can be either depending on the kind of day I've had although the way I write generally stays the same.

I disagree. There are many who have come from Gaia who aren't mature enough to understand that is is not a place for instant gratification. They proceed to break the rules and cause all sorts of problems which are most definitely not welcome. In addition, although conversations can be a bit silly things, they have meaning to us in that we find out more about people, and the fact that it's an actual conversation is a plus. Gaia is full of bumps, flames, etc. Lengthy mature discussions are encouraged here, as reinforced by the post length to gold ratio.

Namedrops and picdrops tend to be stupid/insulting, where as that hardly ever happens here. On Menewsha, people actually interact with each-other in a friendly way, where as many of Gaia's forums are utter trash. Slave threads, much?

I don't agree or disagree with this, but the fact that the users here at least make an effort to post something other than "bump" is.

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Reports usually get handled within 5-10 hours at most, unless it's something very complex.

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Also: Maturity isn't synonymous with having a stick up your butt. Just because we consider ourselves mature doesn't mean we don't know how to have fun :/

@ Jelly - Plus you forget to mention a common male stereotype... males supposedly don't mature at all XD

Something I forgot to mention before, in general is dressing up little dolls very mature past a certain age? Especially with per se jellysundae who is 40 so she says. I mean really, a 40 year old woman dressing up little dolls doesn't sound very mature :lol:.

(Sorry jelly I had to don't hit me :P)

I am not 40! Not yet! *kicks*

As someone who has was a moderator on Gaia, I can truly say that I have seen my fair share of users. If you compare the GD here to the GD on Gaia, you'd be repulsed not by the spam, but by the people who posted there in general. Out of everything, I saw more people spamming porn and CP than actual spam itself. The reports are so backed up at times with the GD, that it's to the point of no return. :/ There have been several attempts to clean it out, but it'll never be the same. Ever.

Believe me, Mene is NOTHING like the GD and never will be.

That being said, there are plenty of users who are mature on Gaia outside of the GD. You have to know where to find them, though. If anything, the 'spam' here and little discussion is better than many of the topics you'd find in the chatterbox, GD, or guilds.

At least here, people will at least listen and respect the staff instead of just calling them power/money hungry. xD