This may be a bit beside the main point, but I think that the Downs just can't be pinned down by any one of these criticisms because it combines so many things in it. You could use it to argue and debate over various topics, or to look up info / dig in other people's brains and books, or to even create an almost blog-like thread to share the results of whatever Tolkien experiments it is you are doing. You can treat it as an intellectual place, or a silly place, depending on whether you tend to frequent Books or Mirth - or both. You can use it as a place to socialize, as long as it's at least somewhat relevant to Tolkien. We have threads like
Hook's legendary Newspaper thread, which is kind of like a blog thread with regular comments stuck between entries. There are debate topics (no wings!
) and informational topics (good chunk of Movies), random opinion topics, and socializing topics like the renowned Mordor/Shire/Orthanc threads which, to be honest, have veeeeery little to do with Tolkien and a LOT to do with our personal lives. And, of course, there's always the PM option for everything that's too un-Tolkien to be squeezed into the Downs.
You can now paste the above post on an advertisement and expect an influx of Tolkien fans. But, point is - you can't criticize the Downs for lacking an element.
EDIT: and how could I forget our WW games? Speaking of diversity...