There is a fundamental flaw in the centralized trust system, i.e. the the centralizing factor (the person). 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).
The flawed trust system, plus the unregulated presence of scammers, shitposters, and account sales, along with the rift between camps of people sharing differing and often contentious views on all of those things--this is why the forum is a battleground. And the lack of strong leadership on top of everything. Ugh, what a mess.