While I know that it never really caught on, I really wish that the playtest forums had stuck to the "General Heading--Issue At Hand--Page Number" titles that the Paizo staff asked everyone to try and adhere to.
Also, the Alpha Forums had the general theorizing section of the boards as well, so everyone that wanted to post their alternate smite rules or whatever else could do so there, and the other posts actually delt with the RAW in the current form of the document.
The Current Problem
As it stands now, its pointless to try and actually post playtest data, because of several issues:
Where do I post the data? Originally it was asked that we post specific data in the section that it pertains to, as well as the general playtest forum, which is great, except . . .
Do I post about paladin smites in the "Smites Suck" thread or the "Smites Rock" thread or the "Paladin's Smites and do they scare their horses" thread or the "Paladin Smites and Lay on Hands and various other Paladin issues" thread?
If I pick the wrong one, it goes to the bottom of the forum. If I pick the active one, it gets lost behind three pages of people making new abilities up from thin air, and three more pages of people making new abilities based on the new abilities that the previous posters just made, followed by three more pages of people either agreeing or disagreeing with the proposed abilities on the last six pages.
If I post a brand new thread, not only am I adding to the forums getting more cluttered and unfocused, but its pretty likely its going to get buried and shoot to the bottom of the forums because something boring like actual data doesn't survive long on the top of the list.
I know that the Paizo guys have promised us that they will see every post and take them all into account, and I do trust them, and I don't need them to post in every thread to be reaffirmed of this, but at the same time, it seems to me that the proliferation of unfocused threads only serves to make their job that much harder.
My Idea, For What Its Worth
Would it not make sense, if such a thing is possible, for Paizo themselves to make all of the threads in a given forum, and not allow for individual posters to post new topics in a given forum.
If the only threads that could exist in the playtest forums were the ones that were predetermined, this would force a little bit of uniformity, and it would actually serve to make it easier for people to know where to post a given response.
For the class playtest, for example, you could have a general, say, paladin discussion section, a thread for each ability of the class, and a "potential new rules" section for each one.
If something like the paladin revision or the animal companion or the rage alternate system is released, the staff can make a new thread just for that, and for people discussing how it works.
I don't know if the forum can work in this manner, or if the staff wants to go this route, but its too hard for me to follow, and I just feel like its getting more and more pointless to even try to comment, because I make a comment in one thread about a given topic, and twenty more almost the same as the one I respond to pop up.
Its just a thought, for what its worth.