I would say this particular complaint about the forum cannot be founded on much fact.
Like many, including Tom, have pointed out the majority of the player base does not use the forum that much. There is a very small group of players (20 or so) who use the forum a lot, however because those players also happen to make up most of the games biggest "movers" and contributors most of those 20 or so big forum users play in different realms, which is why the forum, and the Locals forum in particular, is such a hot bed for arguments, flaming, etc.
I am not trying to dismiss your claim, however I would urge you to consider the fact that most of the people who make the biggest use of the forum are not usually playing the same realms and thus could not be substituting their in-realm interaction with with the forum.
But as Indirik has said, some examples would go a long way to explaining your point better.
