And in the first place, the users themselves can't delete threads anymore, anyway. XD
They're just too lazy or don't know how to post something on the forum. People ARE here and ready to help, as long as the user can explain the issue they're having with detail. When people ask for help in the Shoutbox, if it's something simple, like, "hey what's this game about?" I'll answer it. If it's a technical problem "I can't download this map" I redirect them to the Help Section of the forum and usually they go post and their problem gets solved. Some people are just too difficult to do that, but I don't think that should mean removing the Shoutbox itself.