>>23052525General threads are a cancer on 4chan. They breed tiny, insular groups where discussion of the actual topic is cast aside in favor of namefagging, attentionwhoring, and general camaraderie. And in cases where actual discussion happens, it's compartmentalized such that new information and unpopular opinions are less likely to be brought up.
The point of an anyonymous message board is twofold. First, it insulates posters from blame or ridicule, freeing them to post unpopular or unpleasant ideas. Second, it places emphasis on the idea itself, and not the mouth it came from. When people namefag consistently like what occurs in generals, they change 4chan from a community of ideas to a community of individuals, and the whole point of an anonymous imageboard is lost.
Generals are where discussions go to die.
