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Spam, in its current incarnation, being just a sub forum of general discussion would not solve any problems. There would still be a dichotomy of discussion, where no dichotomy should exist.
Either we do make that "lounge" (which is quite a nice name, I have to say) a reality, or we somehow shift the focus of everyday discussion back to general discussion, and leave the spam forum as a place for people to bash their keyboards and simply dump posts directly from their subconscious, unfiltered (as true spam forums typically allow for). There are two reasons why I think the former option is the most desirable: firstly, because those of us who are not psychologists or psychiatrists probably do not have any interest in reading up on the metaphorical vomiting of the collective forum's subconscious mind, and secondly, because it is simply much easier to force people into new habits than to gently push them and hope they follow. No offence intended, too, but I do not think that the current roster of staff would even be able to enforce such a pushing: it would require ultra vigilant moderation, and quite a large amount of time and effort from every person involved.
In this case, forcing the issue by combining the sub-forums is not only harmless, but would also be beneficial to the community as a whole. This is what I believe, but if anybody else has something to say, please feel free to make a counter-point: it'd be especially interesting to hear from somebody who solely talks on the general discussion board, and not in spam. If, indeed, such a person even exists.