If anything is making the forum unpleasant, it's the very vocal portion of the community that seek to justify everything that the developers do, shouting down even those who post constructive criticism. It's the reason why I no longer bother with Reddit.

If you don't like a thread, nobody forces you to post in it. It's also pretty obvious from the title what a particular thread is going to be about. It's your responsibility to find the threads you like and post in them. Yet let's be honest - it's pretty clear that many of those concerned about 'negativity' enjoy the drama in many cases. They wouldn't be posting stuff like 'can i hav ur stuf' if they were truly so committed to a pleasant, peaceful atmosphere.