I think everyone would agree that we need a way to "Down Votes" or Hide threads like this.
I think an up/down vote type thing might do well, but it would also make it harder to follow along with the really current stuff.
Up and down votes could just be bought or sold. Which would be fine if you wouldn't mind a market for such a thing.
Hell, anyone with a grudge or just in the mood to do so could give down votes for the hell of it.
As for the question at hand:
I skim four of the main sections on every visit, and a couple others every once in a while. The others I don't read unless someone points me to a topic there. I check my "show new replies to your posts" a lot.
That is about the same thing I do. Easy enough to filter things out by skimming and staying away from the sub forums that don't interest you that much and ignoring anything else.