The rules
I don't think the rules are necessarily strict, but it's how they are applied that makes or breaks a forum. In the past, I've seen some really unfair application of the rules and it made things very bad. If you have a forum where the rules are applied haphazardly or unfairly, there WILL be problems. But, if the rules (regardless of what they are) are applied fairly, the forum will run smoothly.
I don't think the forum is very restrictive; nor do I think it's a dictatorship here. I also wouldn't be here if it was.
But, we're entering into a different topic altogether....