Tiers always exist. Some characters will have more favorable match-ups than others.With tier lists and so many other things that really isnt needed.
I know there are some competitive fighting game players who have signed up on the forums, but don't post very often. Most likely because there's not much to talk about currently outside of the lore. Once the game starts to resemble more of a completed game, and as it gets closer to beta, I'd expect strategy to become a more common topic than it is now. And of course, the game will (hopefully) attract more of a crowd once it's released.I think most of us right now dont care about tier lists and just want a good fighting game made with an interesting story
That being said, I wouldn't worry about the competitive community causing the forums to become less friendly. Most people are relatively well mannered. Besides, I'd like to think we've been moderating the forums pretty diligently thus far, and are likely to continue doing so.