So, I generally see two problems with the Newbie forum. The first, since it's so broad and non-specific, it tends to end up as a catch-all forum that mostly leads to increased moderatoration overhead. The second, is that it tends to lead to some empty threads which clutter up google searches and make it harder for people to find the information they need (the Ubuntu forums are a good example of this).

The idea of having a newbie forum where stupid questions can be asked without getting flamed may be somewhat successful in practice, but it implies that it's OK to flame people elsewhere in the forums (which is wrong) and that newbies are guaranteed to be flamed if they don't post the Newbie forum (which is also wrong).

If entirely removing the Newbie isn't an acceptable option, what about compromising by moving it to a stickied thread in General? It solves the google clutter issue fairly effectively, reduces its catch-all nature a bit, and still provides a place for newbies to feel comfortable. It also makes it easier both for people interested in involving themselves in those help sections and for people who want to avoid them.