Well, I don't use them to get help with games. That's what the FAQs are for, and you don't have to deal with all the annoyingness of posters there. When it comes to the actual forums, I post there for the occasional normal discussion and to help other people out. But, GFAQs forums are far from paradise either. They've got their fair share of internet jackasses and the like.
While that Karma dictates the way you're treated crap has long since gone away, nowadays it's full of people who will make jokes instead of helping someone just because they make one tiny typo, people who get butt hurt when someone says their beloved game is anything less than perfect and of course, the usual stuff you'll run into anywhere on the internet, like internet tough guys and such.