One quick comment for now: what you are saying about the forums is exactly what a lot of people say about IRC as well. Make of that what you will.
For any OOG medium, there will be those that will say that it destroys the game. It probably is true that the forum has a stronger effect than most because of the more permanent nature of what is posted. And perhaps for that reason it needs a more stringent and aggressive moderation policy, and perhaps some rules about what kind of postings are permitted.
