It was accepted from early days that the way the GMB forums are classified is not perfect and it will always be difficult to decide where best to discuss certain issues.
For example, should someone who focuses solely on Murano Glass come into the Paperweight forum to discuss which, if any, of the Toso family may have had something to do with a weight they have? Maybe the best and most meaningful responses to that sort of question could be gained by examining non-paperweight items and therefore having the discussion in the Murano forum.
On the point that has been raised about the purpose of this forum, it has been said,
This forum is for identification purposes ...
But the description of the forum actually states,
For information requests and discussions about Glass Paperweights ...
So, on the basis of the forum description, I
logically agree that the "ebay effect on paperweights" topic is something that belongs in here. But I also agree that the subject is wider reaching than just paperweights and, like my analogy to the "Toso" question above, I think there could be useful input by having the discussion outside of this forum.
What I would suggest is that if there is something really useful
in relation to paperweights, that comes out of wider discussions, then that information is posted in here as a means for retention, probably via subsequent archiving. (If the wider discussion is in the Cafe, then any meaningful points may just get lost.)