So a good idea, but it doesn't go far enough.
Maybe all we need is a special search function ("Search for the correct forum here") that will list all the forums that match a particular word. This resulting list *must* include both the name of the set of forums and the name of the forum itself because there are some forum names that give a completely wrong impression of what they cover if used without the name of the parent set of forums.
Search is good to have, too. But I would like to get that mentioned list also, because things need indexes. But the list shouldn't be one page list only. I have suggested before to create a hierarchical list, that is simple and fast to use.
So in the first page is nothing more than simple links as major list items. There is no info about who wrote last and no info about who was the most active contributor or such, because those slow the list down. Then you select one list item and get a new page with again simple list of links.
At the moment MSDN has a kind of index, the big list. But it has a lot of stuff plus it isn't hierarchical enough. And I want the subitems to be in other page in order to make the list clear and fast.
For example first page could have Windows, Programming, Tools, Architecture, etc. Then if I choose Windows I would get Windows Vista, Windows 7, etc. That would be simple and clear. If I am interested in Windows 7 I go Windows -> Windows 7. Fast and clear. If I choose programming I could get a list of languages. That would be like Programming -> C#. Fast and clear.
Also because the list is simple, it is easy to be created after you have sketched and then finalized the hierarchy. Just remember to make the hierarchy modifiable by adding permalinks to threads and setting threads to point to hierarchy items. Then you can organize the hierarchy on the fly if people think it should be made better. The hierarchy itself can be a table in database with items pointing to items, and loaded dynamically.
Benefits of hierarchical list include that it makes people think about what categories, subcategories, metacategories, and or promotions there actually are or should be before adding new stuff. If the hierarchy is mixed and spans accross many sites (MSDN, TechNet, Microsoft, whatnot) then users keep missing better hierarchy.
