You do not need to change the discussion board at all. It does not need to be active or inviting, the board is already relatively active, people post in it daily, just not every single hour like the other threads. The board itself is fine, each discussion can been seen as a productive discussion, and if a discussion is led astray then the board moderators will warn people to get back on topic, and eventually close the thread if it causes problems. The only thing I can think of that might need a bit of improving is the base thread material. Some things shouldn't be put up for discussion in the first place, and you need to be able to look at a thread and say from the start "This will not lead anywhere." But other than that, the discussion board is fine. If you really want the board to be active, you'd have to degrade the quality of the board to attract the players who don't bother to form a valid argument.