I agree that the forums need to be more streamlined.  I like the idea about the Alchemy threads.

OK, I gotta go get the kiddos dressed and sorted out before I go to work (new job today at a large craft supplies retailer - this will either be heaven or hell!). BUT, I did have a quick look at the admin area of the forum and it looks like we can set up an area that will only be visible to admins/moderators if we set it up that way. If I'm right, this will be great because we can post to our heart's content about how to manage the forum, events, etc, without clogging up the board for other members with our ramblings.

Unfortunately, due to the aforementioned job above, I'm pretty much out of the picture today unless I'm not totally beat after my shift. If anyone has time to play around with it, the section I'm looking at is called 'User Groups'. Also, there is a section called 'User Ranks' which could be useful, too. For example, it allows you to set minimum post counts. This could be useful to prevent non-participating members from taking advantage of things like business card sharing events, etc.