Why Web Forums Suck

All web forums suck in ways that are inherent properties of the medium; additionally there are some near-ubiquitous non-inherent suckages. Suckages I have observed include:

1. The presentation is tied to the site maintainer's notion of "kewl web design" rather than the reader's notions of "good presentation of information" and "pleasant-to-use human-computer interface".
2. Web forums tend to be SPOFs; if the forum's server blows up, gets DoS'd, has its internet connection shut down for non-payment, or has the plug pulled by the maintainers in a fit of pique, nobody can use that forum.
3. Almost all web forums are unusable on small form factor devices; most are unusable at resolutions below about 1024x768.
4. User-provided web forums for a particular pursuit (e.g. forums for fans of a particular subcultural interest) are afflicted by the same kind of Balkanization as Protestant sects and revolutionary socialist groups.