Honestly, to me, the Search feature is useful only if I am looking for something I vaguely recall reading in the past. Enter "Osprey" and the returned items are as confusing as scrolling through topics. And how would a new Member know to search for "Osprey" anyway? The regularly asked question, "What is the best backpack?" will provide more information.
So new, but repeat, questions are fine with me. I don't have to read them, and I certainly do not have to respond to them if I don't want to. To actually be bothered by them would make me a bit compulsive.
FAQ and Camino Resources are excellent for finding things like train and bus information. Scrolling through the various forums and threads is the best way to find things worth considering. When a topic on bed bugs is noticed, the new Member may suddenly have something new to think about! I agree that a first post is mostly about joining the conversation. It is like joining a table of pilgrims for morning coffee; you start with some pretty innocuous general remarks, not some hardcore, straight-to-the-point comment. A question to which you know the answer is pretty common -- what's the weather today?
The Forum page layouts are very well considered and designed, in my opinion. Everyone has his own opinion on priorities, but the designer has to pick one. When the choice is not the same one a Member might have made, it hardly makes the product flawed. Moving an icon around could easily displease as many users as it pleases.