Hi BoaterBob!
Welcome to the area! The PNW is an amazing whitewater haven; there aren't many other places you can boat year-round. I hope you find yourself loving it here, as many of us do!
Regarding the site, I agree with Jed, take it "warts and all", but don't let that scare you away. As with any community, you have all kinds of people with all different kinds of personalities, but we all have at least one thing in common: an interest in whitewater!
The Sky is a great river that is almost always in, so it's kind of a "standard" for many people when other rivers aren't running/runnable, OR it's just a run people like to do no matter what.
The site is basically self-explainable, and the more you read, the more familiar you'll get with how others use it. Personally, I use it for questions, beta, and trip inquiries/notifications.
Since you're new to the area, why don't you join us for the Monthly Whitewater Movie Nights? We just started them this Fall and have them at AquaSports in Redmond, WA every 2nd Tuesday of the month at 7pm. Feel free to bring your wife, kids, friends, or whomever! It's a great place to meet people and enjoy an evening of whitewater movies. Snacks provided; BYOB. The next one will be on 14 December.
Hope to SYOTR soon!
P.S. Hit up CC Stilly if you can!!