Although I haven't had a look at today's examples, one of the difficulties for the Forum is that what starts as a genuine and specific request for help or advice can get hijacked into becoming a virtual village shop where the main purpose is the exchange of personal news and information, such as health, flooding, holidays, exhibitions in Paris etcetera.
Personally I don't have a big problem with this social side of the Forum but it may be why people start new threads with the same topic.