I think forums are only as "close knit" as the person participating on them makes it. If the community doesnt feel that way to you, its probly not because the members dont try to be that way with you, but because you dont put yourself out there enough to make yourself a close member of the community. Online forums are a group effort, theyll only go as far as the members take it.
And I think
@pjparadox put it best, the only problems I have with this site is the fact that it dies down and then immediately bursts back to life so unpredictably, and also the fact that people act like Wario is the only reason to come here, and that the fact that the franchise is not active is reason to not be here. I have been a member of many forums, and besides for a Simpsons forum years ago, I never actually went to those forums for the sites topic : p If I come back and continue to contribute to the site, its because I really liked and have grown attached to the community, and want to be a member of it. Thats the reason I stuck around here, I thought the community was way great and fun to talk to, and I wanted to be a member of it, too : p
A forum is only as lively as its members make it, theres a million things we could talk about if we were interested in being a community.
(Also speaking of the negative ratings, Ive never once seen a site where its members could use them maturely, and everytime they cause fights with people, so I generally dislike them because of that : p)