It's not that anyone is making the catch-all threads the only acceptable places to post. It's that that's how they are being used.
The last page of the "general NBA" thread includes sub-threads on Durant's hot streak, nba security, and Oden's pictures, articles on Del Harris's retirement and on Duncan'ts (
) contract, and Nash's ridiculous man commercials. Is none of that worth discussing on it's own?
If you ask me, the problem with the "general" threads is that they make people lazy about starting conversations. It's too easy to just post an article or a link as some random item rather than presenting something in a way that will get people excited about talking about it.