My take on this, and I don't really have an axe to grind either way, is this.

This is an issue faced by most forums as they get bigger. Some people want all topics in one place and to pick and choose. Others want to go to specific places for specific topics. There's usually no right answer, and this can lead to conflicts so it's a matter of finding a balance. But when a forum gets popular enough, one section for everything is not enough. I don't know how many posts there are a day on here but imagine if everything was in one section. It would be impossible to keep up with much at all, as it would be gone off the front page within a minute or two, therefore there is a need to split down by topic.

The thing is though, people can have their cake and eat it, by means of the New Posts search. If you're looking for a specific topic, you can go to that forum. If you want a flavour of what's going on across the whole board, click the New Posts link and treat the results like the proverbial Menu.