That can't actually be reading these forums...can they...?

[enthauptet]

The obvious solution is to:
1. Not make 10 topics on the same subject and just keep posting on the same topics
2. Keep irrelevant stuff (e.g. ad hominem) to a minimum and post what you want them to actually take back to the dev team
3. Be serious when posting. All it takes is for them to take one sarcastic comment seriously, and we get the opposite of what we want because that's exactly what we said. This also means eliminating the troll topics and troll posts.

Choosing a group because they have a singular vision is pointless because it would give you a result with no actual value. That's like conducting a medicinal trial with no base group. Your other points are fine but that is what the community team does to a certain extent, they extrapolate general opinions from the feedback provided. But anyway yes I agree the community could do a lot to not be a bunch of jerks to each other and attempt to search to make fewer more concise topics.