I suppose partly good as well as bad is the fact that usually there are multiple topics going on at the same time on any given forum, in that, probably at least one of the current discussions is interesting or truly relevant to oneself right now. The bad part is that you have to keep track of threads in your head. For example, one message might be about how to draft details, the next about doing 3D dormers, the next advice about recommended video cards, the next about 3D dormers, the next about putting details drafted onto plot layout sheets, then back to video cards. It's not too hard to keep it straight, but it can be a challenge. A better way to glean a lot from these forums is to quickly scan every thread, only pausing to actually read the messages which have actual solutions to problems.
Threads sometimes get far afield of where they started.
The Ugly Online forums are famous for getting very ugly. The term flaming was coined to describe diatribe rants that can sometimes occur. Fortunately, all of the CADD email forums are generally far more civil, and even the pejorative software term RTFM is almost never heard. There are, however, negative tones that pop up occasionally, usually due to CADD evangelism and platform snobbery. Another, unavoidable problem, due to the fact that all such forums are open to everyone worldwide, is the issue of different prices and dealer channels in different countries so that every time someone mentions the price of their software, it creates a stir in every CADD forum.