Re: format, the Phoenix, to me, is set up in such a way that one really does have to read and poke around a bit to get the idea of how things move. It's also set up with great care to archive, which gives the board a sense of history and importance. This is obvious by the columns and the titles.
Here is where we discuss rules. Here is where we discuss technical problems. Here is where things are archived. These are the things we discuss.
At the top and bottom of the page, you can click "next" or "previously" and get to the next or previous page.
The way the board is set up specifically brands our board culture, and what is most important to us. One can't quickly find anything unless they're Nilly, and that's what we want. We want people to take the time to figure things out.
The front page advertises what's inside. The titles are snarky. One can see that thousands of posts occur everyday, so that the board is alive and fresh. If that isn't intriguing enough for someone to figure out that "previous" means, "the posts previous to this page" well, they can go to another board and say, "I was so confused! LOL LOL *g*" And we can be at peace.
I don't think it's about it being simple to navigate (it is, it's just different than what others may be used to), I think it's about having 45 seconds of patience.