Animation board was my idea.
There was the same concerns as yours from others.
I made some silly arguments.
Then we made one.
The end.
Whoops sorry for the shiner PPD :O
I don't actually disagree with your argument at all, my only point would be that i'm not sure if we have the numbers to make it a reality.
More specific categorization is a good way to bring a topic into focus, but it certainly has it's issues.
If we, for example, have an animation board then why not a should we have a games art board? a portrait art board? all of these things could benefit under a closer more focused lens and all of these are huge topics worthy of there own board in scope, however the issue with categorization is that it tends to ignore the points in which these subjects intersect. Portrait art for games, animation for games, animated portraits, ect ect. It also runs into the problem that a particular thread, especially in pixelation, has a tendency to evolve and change, people often bring in things like animation to a static piece to further a process, where then does this thread live?
The second issue, and this one is more specific to the forum, is that by adding a different section you tend to split views. I might to talking mostly about my own habits here but I tend to only really check the general and pixel boards, not because I dislike animation but simply because I don't often think about it. More then that when I have an animation to post I am unsure sometimes where to put it, the animation board may be more focused but the pixel art board gets the most attention most quickly (as far as I can tell).
I am certainly not against the idea of bringing more focus onto animation, and if this is the best way to do it given the limitations of an old forum then fair enough. But perhaps nesting it pixel art could work, or maybe making a board with duplicate or redirected threads (idk if that's technically possible) so we could maintain focus without things not showing up on the main stage so to speak.