I'm convinced that was why the OT forum there was far bigger than any of the other forums there and what drove most of the day-to-day traffic to that site. I definitely miss having access to that version of OT.
I'm convinced this was actually what lead to the demise of the site. r/CAguns with 90k users is a sect of CGN for people who primarily want to discuss 2A. On CGN, the OT section overwhelmed the 2A section so it became more of a hangout to chit chat than to discuss 2A and introduce new shooters.
Not only that, its a huge time and resource suck. Mods have to read every message, builds animosity because they have to follow rules, none of which adds to 2A premise of the site. Also, its very expensive to operate. Before CGN moved back to dedicated server, the cost was estimated at $800/mo. They've moved to a $220/mo dedicated server now, but still resource constrained in a few ways. Our cost is also significant, because of the extras we add here. It's more than a basic forum on a server in the closet. The search feature alone with saved search is already over $1k. Not including the security add-ons, services, etc. I haven't broke even yet, but I'm going to soon. So i have to work with the limited resources and why I say, i want to hear from more people who have skin in the game. Overwhelmingly those who pay, don't want it, mostly free accounts want OT.
My goal here, was to take a step back to put 2A at the front, where OT as you mention brought most people and used the most resources. I still think CGN will return, but the focus will be OT vs 2A. Where our focus is 2A and not OT. You can bounce between the two if you'd like and there's a clear distinction between the two.
Here my goal is to introduce, educate, and train 2A enthusiasts for sport or self defense, not to hang out in a forum. Some people like to do that, so I oblige, but it will not be the main focus of the site. It's a side thing. I'd rather keep the site small and focused, than big and unmaintainable.