I would agree with a combination of Wayne's suggestions (built upon by some others) Say...moderators could be a bit more strict in enforcing rules, but also create a seperate forum for 'just plain goofiness."
If possible, set the then established 'goofiness' forum to automatically dump threads that have had no activity for more than 2 weeks.
Then when an inappropriate thread comes down the talk-about section, it can be moved and the poster can be slapped.
