I could be wrong and if I am kick me in the rear, but I think “SEO News” and “Revenue News” and maybe others have been hired in to boost the activity on the forums for reasons undisclosed.
I agree with your assessments; 99% of what is posted is not relevant news at all, what affiliates need is straight forward business discussion. I have located such a place, but I am not permitted to speak about it here for obvious reasons, I recommend to you both if you look you will find.