I'm just happy to see others posting on iww.org. Have you checked out out conversation down on the placeholder forum: http://www.iww.org/en/node/3731 It is very much applicable to your question

I'm not so sure they really are empty.  I think certain groups which are closed to the public (and not included in the general "All Members" group) may have access to and use these areas. 

Oh maybe they should be hidden completely then. I dunno much about admining forums though.

If they're not closed forums and really are empty then they should be closed. Is there a "find recent posts" function on here or some other way to track ongoing conversations? That'd be helpful. (I wish I had some kind of tech abilities to contribute, but I don't, so I can't help with that stuff.)

There's http://www.iww.org/en/group/tracker which shows recent posts of all types (not just forum topics)

Thanks Mick. Now do you have any idea how I can change it so it doesn't say my full name on here? (Sorry, I'm stupid with this stuff.)

If we want members to use the forums then all the empty groups must be condensed. It's very simple. If we don't want people to use the forums then keep them as they are.

Here's what I think a re-organization of the IWW forum could look like.

General Discussions

-General Discussion
-Contracts and Labor Law
-Economic Theory
-New Member Orientations
-Strategy and Tactics
-Structure and Process
-Training and Education

Unions and Departments

Should stay the same.

Branches, Regions and ROCs
-Australia
-BIROC
-Canada
-GLAMROC
-USA

Branches should be contacted and asked if they use their forums or intend to start using them. If not, or there's no reply the branch forum should be deleted.

Committees
-GEB
-International Solidarity Commission
-General Defense Committee
-Organizing Department

Caucuses
Women's Caucus
Placeholder Forum

Reports
General Organizing Bulletin

please, someone tell me what a "placeholder forum" is!!!