New-ish to Audiogon Forums... Is it always like this?

"...The thread ends up being a running list of members' favorite gear..."

It's hard to recommend gear that's not our favorite or we haven't heard. 

I've been here over 20 years. It ebbs and flows. Keep trying. Sooner, or later, a great thread will come along and you'll be rewarded with a "thank you" and a sense of accomplishment for your efforts.

"Do a good turn daily". Good words to live by.........

BTW, some of the most active threads on AudiogoN are "music" related threads (What's playing on your TT, CD player, streamer, etc). Lot's of good participation, no trolling, no competition, etc. Give them a try if you want a good, active, long running thread , in which to participate.

Sadly, much of what you have observed hits the nail squarely on the head.  It seems well over 90% of the time when someone suggests a piece of gear it is unqualified.  And, as you observed, the OP often never lists what qualities they are looking for.  So it is garbage in, garbage out.  It becomes a predictable and unhelpful exchange of the same things over and over.

On other hand, there are some threads that have been wonderful sources of information that have run for even years populated by some members who are real gems.  Just wished that occurred more often. 

The observations about people posting their favorite is is correct and it actually gets worse than that.

There are posters here that always recommend something they own, or want to own, regardless of context.

There are posters who denigrate other suggestions, based not on sound, but on where the product is manufactured.

There are posters who recommend or denigrate products they have never heard.

So you have to sort out who is making the post and whether the suggestion has limited or any value at all.

Overall, this is a good forum, and you can get some very useful information, but it takes some time and patience

Recommendations are merely subjective and should be considered as that. There is always useful information from valued members even if it takes some time to decipher their style or way of thinking, so you always learn.
Just keep searching and try to read all or most posts.

G