Another suggestion would be to expand each page to more than the currently displayed topics (20?), to say 50. This might also be a per-user configurable preference option.
At the bottom of each index page, there are links to view any other message in the topic. So they are all available, all of the time. Just click on the arrows or numbers to go to the next page.
Stickies are used to mark the most referred to pages, and pages describing how an area should be used. There is no limit how many messages there can be in a given topic, but to prevent huge page loading times, messages below the top page are accessible via the number and arrow links at the bottom of each page.
Now, it is easy to assume that modifications can be made in the Forum software to make it do whatever one wants - we are limited by the options already available in the software - to modify it beyond that would take a software Guru, and to pay him would result in an extreme cost of running the board, and force charging people for memberships.
So, there are just some things we have to put up with, and perhaps future updates from the software developer may include some of these improvements.
Meanwhile, we should limit stickies whenever possible. In the areas I work on most, there are some subjects I leave sticky for a while, but un-stick when they become less active - perhaps we can be a little more diligent trying to keep on top of excessive stickies.
Meanwhile, remember those links at the bottom of the page = they will allow you to view every title in a subject, be there 20 or 200,000. It just takes a little while to page through them on very active topics such as "General Discussion". Then there is also the search engine, which will help to find subjects further down the list. Once a message falls off the first page, it is always still available by going to the next page, or beyond.
Dave