As much as I support and agree with the message of this thread, nothing will ever change with anything less than a complete paradigm shift. Expecting the mods to really crack down on people not following the rules is too much work to ask from a handful of volunteers (though they could monitor created threads more vigilantly. A good solution would be giving dev thread creators power over their own threads, with the ability to delete posts, block specific users from posting, and request infractions. Some things that could help with this: users with infractions within 90 days can't post in development threads (or can only post in Q&A), infractions and bans can be used far more liberally than they currently are (arguing should be an instant infraction or temp ban).
As it stands now, the forums are effectively uncontrolled, with mods stepping in only occasionally to remove strings of pointless posts. I love what XDA stands for, and the freedom it allows it's members, but it could use some modicum of order and civility. Enforcing the rules will make it easier on both developers by keeping their threads clean (if they want), and users to actually keep track of relevant information in dev threads, and just have a greater density of worthwhile content.
That's just my two cents, but hey, I could be completely off-base because I'm rarely even on the forums anymore for exactly the reasons stated in the OP (which I read, promise).