As much as I hate to say it, I agree that this site is loaded with lamers, and it brings the overall quality of the site down. However, I don't think there is any kind of regulation or testing that can remedy this problem and still be reasonable. The best thing that can be done is to educate those who can be saved, and put up with those who can't (or flame them the hell out ).

I really don't think you should waste your time worrying about this, seeing as you have virtually no power to change it. Your only real hope would be to convince JP of your idea. Getting members' opinions is really a waste. As much as many of us like to think this site is a republic, it isn't. Like it or not, JP doesn't have to listen to our suggestions on how to run this site. AntiPoints have proven that many times (the system DOES seem to be improving, though). Luckily, he's kind enough to let us voice our opinions, and generally consider them with an open mind. Some of us need to be more thankful for that.

If you want to exercise what power you DO have to change this, use what you know, and post. Contribute meaningfully to good threads, and create meaningful new threads. For those of us who are desperate for intelligent conversation, it will be a great relief. It will also help to shorten the lifespan of meaningless threads, and therefore limiting the power of those of us who think that Windows is actually a good operating system. If you want a good thread to start, do a tutorial on good Linux distributions for beginners, the ups and downs of each, the ups and downs of Linux in general, and how to install each distro. This would be a great weapon to use against those awful "which distro" threads which I'm so horribly sick and tired of answering.

Unfortunately, lamers are a fact of the forums. No matter what we do, there is nothing we can do to get rid of them without being total Nazis about it. Dumb threads will pop up now and again. The firewall questions will always be there. The hack Hotmail questions will always be there. The best thing us simple members can do is answer them in one reply, and let them go afterwards. If somebody has the initiative, maybe they can suggest to JP that he get a person to moderate the forums, and remove all threads that are stupid. We can still have our fun, but crap like what people like Eating_Scarlett post needs to go. A moderator to clean that trash up would be a much needed relief to the forums. As much as I despise his iron fist, I think Louie would be just about perfect for this job.