I don’t mind the unconsolidated approach. I read the forum by way of the active topics list (just not on Sundays from about 4:00 to 10:00 PM Pacific), and stale threads quickly drop out of sight. I also like to be able to tell from a glance at the subject line whether a thread will interest me, and I think the multi-multi-page discussions are more likely to mutate away from that. So, looking at the first page of the active topics list — and skipping past threads that are long or that, by their subject lines, aren’t my cup of tea — is a very good filter for me.
As for posting, it depends on how much original content I’m putting forth, but also on how interested I am in being able to find responses to my postings. If responses are important to me, I’d rather contribute to a short-lived thread that has just a few pages, instead of to one of the perpetual threads.
Gaultheria's fanvids: http://youtube.com/sagethrasher