The new thread idea is definitely bad. It will eventually get jacked and watered down and lose focus and then get lost in obscurity or the bowels of the archives just like every thread in every forum ever does.
A Wiki however is a totally different animal. Its a living web document with a simple rough outline that is easily navigated cross ref'd. It is concise and easily updated with new info without having to wade though prior posts that may be old info, corrected later or even corrected in different threads. The search function of most forums are horrendous, yes, eventually you may find your relevant info but only after reading far too much irrelevant, outdated or erroneous info. The how-tos, pics, grpahics and documents here are top-notch info, however those could be easily indexed and linked in the Wiki as well. Also any relevant forum posts for a given topic.
Wiki's are generally open for anyone to edit and correct, and while that policy can be a bone of contention, the consensus of the masses generally works out to provide accurate info. The Wiki serves as a quick index to information rather than a full forum site full of chatter, sob stories, smileys and witty banter. I think it would be a welcome addition.
And Kat, I find it amusing that the OP is asking for a creation of new user manual, and you protest by then describing the efforts you have gone through to do essentially the same thing for yourself.
Might it not be a good idea to put those organization skills to use for us all? Sounds to me you'd be a great Wiki editor.
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Originally Posted by Grif
.... I have a degree in Health Records Administration...keeping all hospital records & data organized & retrievable. I feel I definitely matched my calling up with the right degree/profession. 
But honestly, I didn't actually protest, I don't know enough about the technical side of forums to protest. I do know the user end of managing data pretty well though, as I was in charge of a large database of health/malpractice claim data for over 20 yrs. 
