Russell-
ESRI needs to create the 10 separate branches under this ArcSDE forum by DBMS platform and topic; you had a goodt hing going on the old forums, don't "fix it" if it isn't broke!
What's with 'GEODATABASE AND' ArcSDE?
The ArcSDE forums are now going to be home for any geodatabase question?
Most times SDE admins are in the forums because they're having a problem, need quick answers, and may be under pressure to solve an issue.
If ESRI expects users to browse through hundreds of thread topics all under "Geodatabase & ArcSDE", with cryptic subject lines looking for those that apply to SQL SERVER vs. ORACLE, or Performance Tuning vs. Installation or Licensing, I doubt I'll ever find a solution here in the future.
ESRI is slowly 'killing the goose that laid the golden egg', eliminating ArcSDE Enterprise as a separate product, shoe-horning it into the ArcGIS Server installation media package, (although still on it's own separate DVD); and now dumbing-down it's user's forums. This is a great product, and has some very loyal users.
Let us know how we can help you get the new forums.arcgis.com up-to-speed for die-hard ARCSDE users.
Thanks!
Jon