Another thing I've found awesome about current GAF -- is its pace. I know people want a faster pace, but I'm not so sure; back at the height of its power, GAF threads moved too fast, and it was easy for your post to get lost. Also, what happened then (which is also what happens on ERA even to this day) is that only the most obnoxious/extreme posts, or posts by the most prominent members are the ones that get all the attention. (Although there's a huge intersection between "shit posts" and "posts by prominent members" I guess). Reasonable posts get buried underneath.
With its current pace, GAF allows you to actually engage more with people, which is the whole point of a forum. Also, it allows anyone to "be the change they want to see." Want to see more retro gaming threads? Have it at. Want to talk about graphics cards? Have at it. Want to be a bit of a weirdo and post chick's asses specifically wearing jeans? Have at it too. Point is, if you persist enough, other GAFers will gravitate to -- and eventually engage with -- whatever topic it is that you want to talk about, gaming or otherwise. I have seen it happen with the video game backlog thread, a Retro gaming thread (that started as an announcement for an upscaler), and like I said, the asses thread. And in a lot of those cases a single poster -- or just a couple of posters -- have been the most active ones, but other people started coming in once they saw all the action.
Lastly, every member's opinion here is given the same weight, at least from what I've seen. There's no cult of personality around any mod or even around any "prominent" posters. Yes, some posters do still rise to prominence just because of their weird/fun/outspoken personalities, but it's just all fun and games. There's no worship or ass kissing here on GAF.