Although I am a newbie here (in terms of join date <-> current date), I have been wondering the same. Many topics are filled with "mooning" or "bright future" but there is no analysis or insight more or less any topic. There are veterans of course discussing and argumenting but most topics are cluttered with messages with no point. Very unfortunate for a newcomer who would like to learn. I thought the merit system would improve this as you cannot progress to next user level without others endorsement. Until now I haven't seen many using the merit system although there has been also very intelligent posts as well.