Right. A lot of Forum threads could be projects instead or in addition. Much of the giant birding one, for example. “Spooky Observations” which usually pops up around October. Pretty much any thread which offers an opportunity for examples. And the Mi Casa es Su Casa thread generated a lot of data for an existing Project.
I tend to think of these threads as palate cleansers, a balance for the heavier stuff that may be going on in the Forum or in people’s lives. If there seem to be more recently, it may just be that people are seeking more of that right now.
I find threads that do not meet my needs, interests, or for me abilities are pretty easily skipped and utilize the UNtrack option liberally.