Oh come on. You see it, too.
Please speak for yourself. Your massive anti-forum bias is not shared by many people on the forum. For reasons that should be obvious.
I can't recall anyone defending the forum on the grounds of it being really friendly and welcoming, for example. The best anyone posted was that it's less aweful than some other forums for some other games.
All right, then, now you won't be able to say that anymore:
I think the forum is a good, welcoming place for new players. I haven't yet seen a new player introduce themselves and be ridiculed or met with a hostile reaction. I've seen the Newbie Board be a great help to new players and players who aren't so new, but still have newbie questions.
