Disagree that people should categorically stay away from the Speculation sub-forum. Some of the most macro-economically thought-provoking discussion I've found anywhere over the past few years has occurred in the gold-vs-bitcoin threads that live in the Spec section.
You are braver than me.
But okay - glad to know there is some useful stuff there after all.
Heh... Yeah, requires wading through lots of trash... But not nearly as much as in the alt-coin sub-forum!
Edit: fixed typo