The forums could be sliced and diced any number of ways. Doesn't it really depend on the purpose of them? Chris M makes a point about the rotating audience, so even if the forums are sliced up, people will still rehash the same ol stuff.
Maybe it's as simple as adding a statement to newbies to read through the threads before posting. Most of us that are regularly on, stay pretty current and we're really the only ones who see all the re-hashing.
And I've seen there's a strong sense of community here, people will redirect others to where the information is.
