I’ve noticed that too - think there’s lots of possible reasons why, but here’s a few:
Many SFers who are French residents are unable to vote,
Many still get their prime newsfeeds from english language media.
Many SFers are still UK residents or retain very close ties / visit frequently.
To many, the French political system may seem more complicated or more nuanced than those of the UK and US.
We are in a particularly turbulent time right now, and many are extremely (reasonably) concerned about what’s going on. But SF has always had an Anglo focus on politics.
Plus…
Bureaucracy is a national sport in France and best tackled as a challenge and not a stress. No good trying to apply logic or system experience from your home country. France is where you are now and it’s their way or the highway.
Be prepared with multiple copies of all important documents. You can never have too many. Send not the originals wherever possible.
Speak French whenever possible. Doesn’t matter how dreadful your accent or grammar it’s worth making the effort. Will open doors.
Smile a lot. Some may think you’re touched but others will become friends.
Plus: awareness raising about French inheritance laws…
An entire podcast (or even series!) could be made on this subject. As it’s so very different from what people coming from Common Law/Anglo Saxon countries are used to, even a high level introduction would hopefully raise awareness of the potential man traps that await the unwary, before they move…
I have lived in France for many years. I regard France as my home. Having Irish citizenship, as well as UK passport, means that I have limited voting rights. Which is better than none at all.
I don’t contribute a great deal as the vast majority majority of topics pass me by. I don’t give advice mainly because most queries are about subjects on which I have no current experience. Or indeed any knowledge at all.
Viewed from afar this forum has a well known structure. Over time debates are dominated by a hard core of incessant contributors who seem to have an opinion on every subject under the sun. So be it.
However curiosity prevails and I can’t resist taking a peek now and again.
Gus
Therein lays a problem, if the hardcore incessant posters didnt then waiting for the odd post from some would mean the forum would die out as have many others.
@Corona Couldn’t agree more. I watched an excellent gite forum die because of facebook (which is useless). The words “clique” and “incessant contributors” I believe misrepresent this forum. I’ve been on long enough to know that new(er) members have been greatly welcomed and have become active and highly regarded contributors. People come on here for different reasons - some for a specific query and then go again, others for gossip (they may be on their own or it’s a chance to use their English). Others share their knowledge and expertise year after year - thank goodness they do - and so certain names do crop up all the time, but that is their huge generosity.
Just having lived here for many years gives a certain authority and gravitas - they know what life is like here and so their opinions are always welcome.
This is a thriving forum - thank goodness. There have been many, many times I have been so glad I found it all those years ago when other forums were dying.
I think the format used by Survive France works very well. A lot of the questions that get asked need answers that point the poster in the right direction to find more detailed information and other questions need answers from people who have experienced the same issues. As it is at the moment I think that SF has got most of the bases covered really well, it’s down to the quality of information that the members provide. I don’t like mentioning names because I will miss people out but members like Jane, Fabian, Kim, George and others provide clear useful ‘official’ guidance. Others like Billy, Corona and of course Vero have specialist knowledge that they are happy to share. I think that Robert’s contributions are useful for posters from the US as he posts from first hand experience. The rest of us chip in when we believe we have something to offer.
What makes SF different is that it is not a dull faceless way to get information, there are plenty of sites out there that do that, the nature of SF is enhanced by its interactive nature. It might well be worth having a pinned post in a ‘Thinking of Moving to France’ category with a list of the basics from needing a visa? through healthcare to inheritance and death but in my opinion that should be no more than a list that encourages questions so that SF can continue doing what it does best.
or to view it another way - it could encourage others to post more…
imagine a group of friends talking together in a room; if the same stronger voices are the only ones heard, then the more reserved voices can be lost / brushed over…
yes, those with more time to seem to post more; however EVERYONE has a place to play to build community ! I think Cats reminder to just think before people get shouted down is the most important. It takes many different flavours to make a perfect cocktail ! the perfect mix can easily be missed if the louder voices just shouted about how ridiculous one flavour is over another…not my best analogy but im sure you get the point…
Agree 100%. For a good number of years in the 2000s I was a Moderator on a forum for professional wedding photographers (it was US-based but there were members from all over the world). I made many friends from that group, a fair number of whom I am still in touch with 20 years later, even though that forum is no more.
You will not be surprised to hear that there were the same moans about “cliquey old-timers” from new members, and moans about “ignorant and uppity newbies” from the old lags! 
We also had “lost in translation” problems occasionally, when more literal-minded American members didn’t understand the banter and sarcastic joshing indulged in by the Brits and Aussies!
Eventually the forum died - partly because of Facebook, which replaced the forum’s social side, and partly because the forum owner sold it on to a company who tried to expand its membership by opening it up to non-professionals (previously you had to at least have a working website as evidence that you were a professional, even if only a part-timer or a new start-up). The old-timers became reluctant to share their expertise with “all and sundry”. Also having started as a self-help group for photographers getting to grips with the then-new digital camera technology, the early joiners found they didn’t need the resource as much any more.
A forum lives and dies by its regular contributors - folks who pop in to ask a question and are then never seen again won’t be enough to keep it running.
And having a social side to the forum is a big asset IMHO - the chat about recipes, gardening, hi-fi or whatever is as much of an attraction (to me at least) as the practical information and advice.
This is also true - it is incumbent on those who have been around a while to tread a bit softly and encourage new folks to get involved (Scampis aside… 
)
So floreat SF, and thank you all for making this place what it is!
Can be useless but can also be excellent. There are some wonderful, informative FB pages out there including those managed by Kim.
FB has its place - particularly for a fairly narrow topic like Kim’s - but across the whole thing the lack of structure compared to a forum makes it much harder to find older posts that may be relevant. And it drowns in irrelevant adverts and “sponsored posts”, which have got significantly worse since Zuckerberg hitched his wagon to the Trump gravy train and relaxed a lot of the controls.
I don’t know how other people use Facebook but all I see on my page are the niche pages that I want to see, mainly things to do with France, medieval architecture, motorcycles and boats. Occasionally there is some crossover like the Spanish site Castillos en Moto.
They vary in quality but the well managed ones with a good admin team should not be dismissed as being useless.
If Facebook works for you David that’s great. More power to both your elbows.
If you are going direct to specific (well-run) Facebook groups then of course it’s useful.
But if (like me) you use it more as a way to keep in touch with friends, then the home page when you first log in is a bit of a petit dejeuner du chien, and I suspect that’s where @SuePJ was coming from as well.
As always, each to their own.
A poor workman… That seems to be a common approach to FB.
I have found SF and its members incredibly helpful. Always received good information or relevant experiences and if not links from members to help.
I will admit i do read a lot of the topics. However with many of them i do not have the information or the experience to respond on many topics.
I find the politics especially on US great as i am not well informed. So reading the US members views interesting.
Guess i am more of a lurker lol
Which is also fine - some have more spare time than others!
But you do chip in when you have a contribution, so that’s VG.
True when it comes to voices in a room, its why as a manager I used to wait for the quiet ones input before acting on a change. However I do not believe that analogy works for the written word on a forum style where many hours or days can pass between postings.
I think also that we have a tendency to misinterpret people; to react to perceived rudeness too quickly; to jump down fellow-members’ throats; to miss the nuances unless one already has a reputation for silliness.
At least, I do. 
How many SFers does it take to change a light bulb?
The answer is 7
Bonzocat had a problem with a bedside lamp and was given helpful advice by 7 responders. That is the nature of this forum. There is help generously given from the trivial to the consequential. I have received help from how to sharpen a knife to what type of car to buy (and yes, even how to change a light bulb).
Let’s make sure we look after what we have.