two things here:
1. it's pretty amazing that, when people pay for things, they tend to treat them better. Even whey they are paying as little as $10 per month or less. The fact of the matter is that the pay side on the old board was better mannered, on-topic and more informative, even though it was much less trafficked. That is the reason people clamor for the pay board - it's not that it "keeps the riff raff out," rather, it tends to keep us all from devolving into riff raff. Those who used the pay side at the old board will confirm this - and it is especially the case when you compare the chat rooms.
2. I detest the "official thread" posts. the fact of the matter is that most posters have very little to offer, and you have to wade through a lot of chaff in those megathreads to find the few kernels of wheat. I would much rather see 40 different threads with 6 to 10 responses than one thread with 200 or more responses. It's also why so many of us want to see thread view - topic view is more egalitarian, as it basically forces you to read, or at least skim, every post. Thread view allows you to skip over the sub-topics and especially the posters who you know from experience are weak and/or distasteful. I don't mean that in a superior way, either - I know that there are plenty of posters who wish they could skip over my posts.
all that being said, I think the forum is basically fine. if you take the time to explore it, there is a lot of functionality here that solves many of the "problems" people have. I would still like to see thread view, and I would contribute to a tip jar, but there is no need for any major overhaul, IMO.