Wading through 1 long thread which you know ought to contain the info you need is much better than wading through umpteen threads without knowing which thread contains the info. Much more detrimental to the forums is the use of non-descriptive thread titles -

• "please help!" - state what help is needed on
• "help needed!" - ditto
• "can the n900 do this?" - do what for god's sake
• "can someone port this app?" - what app for god's sake

and other such nonsense. (NB these are just examples and not the actual titles of threads in the forum but are close).