As a relatively new visitor here but a veteran of many years of music forum visiting, I offer the opinion that you guys really don't have much of a problem here - if the most frequently asked questions get constantly directed to either the search button or to a previous thread, new members will get the information they need while not feeling like they have any reason to be terrified of exisiting members, but will know the rules for the next time they post. Plus, they will be able to direct others in the same way. I would caution against too many deleted threads, but swift locking of anything that is too rehashed works very well to make a point without inviting endless circular discussions.
The community here feels like exactly that and although I am active on a number of other boards this is one I actually want to make time to come and visit, and you can expect to see a lot more of me.
Even though I am fairly experienced and have been making music for a long time and could happily go into mega geek mode very easily, I dislike any forum that smacks of elitism and I think the current setup here is one that works very well. Please don't change it cause I'll have to leave again
PS the fact that there is an 11 page discussion on how to keep your board healthy is a suggestion that it is, in fact, already pretty healthy.
with the displays of the forum members in the last few pages I doubt we will