There are lots of things that could be done to improve the forums:
1. sticky important topics to the top of the list
2. give moderators the ability to MERGE duplicate topics when necessary (although this should not be overused either)
3. have a section for 'callouts/flaming' because some people are really into that sort of thing (not me really, although I did create a blacklist the other day which stirred up some commotions
)
4. more moderators, perhaps one per section.
5. a clan section, where chieftains can create a board for their clan with sub threads...
6. Bug reporting board/service (separate from support)
6. a section for people to report abuse/cheating or at least some kind of reporting service that is only displayed to the admin
I am sure there are many more things that could be done to improve the way the forums operate, but I can't think of any right now.
At the end of the day, locking threads some be done with discretion (lots of discretion). I appreciate the work you have done on here dsrendgar (i personally don't have time for this sort of thing right now, that's for sure so kudos to your for stepping up to the plate), but you have been locking threads quite a bit, and continually telling people to search the forums first is getting tired. And not to single you out, there are others on here who also say 'search first' quite a bit...
I mean, unless you type the exact same character string into your search, you aren't going to find similar topics, and that is assuming that the similar thread is using appropriate terminology to describe their issue (not always the case).
More discussion is better than less, even if it is messy...
