Well, first of all I've got to say that I enjoy a good old discussion on a forum- if only about the necessity of having discussions on a forum...
Then it's good to see you agree, that there is plenty more to talk about than just the basics... Albeit considering your personal, seemingly somewhat desillusioned, points of view.
Having thrown spare cash at your hobby for 3/4 of your life is not a valid point for desillusion for me, though, you'd not have done it had you not got a lot out of it personally.
About the gadgets: pricey, you say, and yes, a complete BFA 306ccm engine would set you back a low 5-digit amount of £££. Would you do that? Would you end up with a machine that satisfies your personal needs? Probably not, and neither would I. But I'd certainly follow a thread where people document their builds and share their impressions and experiences.
Then there is the other stuff, more reasonably priced, some quite appealing. I'd certainly appreciate trustworthy people's first hand experiences and opinions before i went out and spent (still) considerable amounts of cash on lemon-parts...
Only a forum can provide this kind of entertaing and educating information...
Besides, a forum is on a social level that the anti-social media don't even get close to.
