I think this place is a great resource, but I just hate to see its value in that regard diluted or ignored by careless users that neither take the time to post in an even remotely relevant section nor reference the vast pool of information already here. Yes, that's just a fact of message board life, but on the other side of the equation, mods that don't move off-topic posts to their proper location compound the issue. When they do, a "MOVED: blah blah blah" placeholder might serve well as a public reminder to others that such enforcement is in place and to post in a relevent section rather than a private message to the offender (if one is even sent?) explaining things.
"A place for everything and everything in its place" would be a fine starting point.

Let's not forget the seemingly random pruning of old posts. Topics with good information can vanish after a few weeks, but random stuff can persist for months or even years, and the search results pull up plenty of long-gone topics.

Sticky topics don't get used very effectively either. Would be nice to have a sticky FAQ-type post at the top of many of the sections that both clarifies the purpose of the section and covers some of the more routine things that come up. The tires section has a good one, though locking them down so they are read-only is probably a good idea. Submit potential additions to them to the moderator of the respective section.

Not that I think it'll happen, but I would genuinely offer my help with any of these things if it would be accepted. I may be gruff around here, but part of it comes from frustration. I'd be far less prone to it if I could pitch in.

If anyone in charge has a formal issue with my virtual moderator activity, by all means let me know and I'll butt out, but so far it's been tolerated fairly well that I can tell.

Brent