Might be wondering if it really is possible to have it as a normal discussion here in the community.
It all depends on your definition of what a normal discussion is,this is a community/forum that is divided into various sections and every section has its particular purpose(why it was created)
The BD section is for Bitcoin matters
AD section for Altcoin matters
B&H section is to help the newbies get up to scratch
And so on and so forth.......
While here is meta we discuss issues related to the forum,such as merits,ban appeal etc
And as the rules states, rule number 25 to be precise a banned account is only allowed to make a thread here is meta about his/her ban, any thread outside meta invariably leads to another ban..
So my point is simple if the ban appeal threads/merit discussions were to be held in BD or AD or any other section other than meta then it is not a normal discussion(let me borrow your words)
But if they are made in here then it is totally/absolutely normal..
We've been getting much of it lately which shows our Mods are cracking down on cheaters
Then the merit issue most times is just about noobs who haven't ranked up whining up in our ears(give it's some time,it will die down)