Theymos does not act as frequently as he should, i.e. he does not act swiftly on obvious collusion as is in the recent case. Either decentralize it in a way, or act more frequently and more vigorously.
Therefore, yes it is battlefield between users trying to clean this place up and users who only care about their own profit. It is not going to change anytime soon (see above).
I agree with your two points.
I've spent two years here and I've witnessed that most people come here to make money, for them bitcointalk is just a money printing machine.
They just don't care anything about the forum, they just use their brain on how to multiply their earnings in a legit way or scammy way. But mostly scammy way.
That's why there is something needed as "RULES" for all newcomers or existing abusers. Such as a page for "rules" where every rule will be written which Theymos/staff/Mods/DT agreed to.
That "RULES" page need to be visible for all users and it can be placed beside our avatar or right side of that row, an extra big font maybe with red color can be more visible.
So even after any user breaks the rules, then they will be simply banned. No chance to pollute the forum, as an example
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/from-actmyname-no-response-for-a-week-2948458It will be better to mention the reason for which someone will be banned... You are banned due to X reason.
Regarding Theymos,
I respect him very much due to the fact that after Satoshi's invention, he has created an awesome opportunity for all of us by creating this forum.
The thing I love most is, we are connected to each other in cryptospace through this forum, isn't it a cool thing? Making new friends, new opportunities are created daily etc.
My earnest request to him will be to create the final "RULES" and select some members from DT besides staff to look after his beautiful forum.