IMO stuff like that belongs to the wiki. SMF 2.0 IIRC supports boards that are essentially redirecting to another url. In other words, admin can create a board called "Getting started" which redirects to specific FSWiki article.
I've always though of the wiki as a resource most usefull for modders and the acquainted with FSO, not some place where newbs get what they need. There's no interaction there, nowhere and no one to turn to when you face a problem, forums are different since there always seems to be someone out there reading your inquiries.
Newbies don't get along that much with the wiki IMO, or do not even know it exists and why does it exist at all.
If I were a newbie I'd look for tut's on how to install FS the on the forums, as soon as I get to a thread that seems to redirect me to another site I might probably distrust said thread and hit the back button on my browser.
Placing everything that's necessary on a single board would be much more effective from a newbie pov, they'd get to see the title and it's quite clear they need to go there to start with freespace, you can introduce them in the jargon on one thread, some history about the game on the other and then let them follow the instructions to manually install freespace.
You could even take that hole wiki article and port it to a few different threads on the forum, it explains a lot but when it comes to instructions or resources to get FS installed you're getting linked to the forums again and that seems kind of redundant, and probably puzzling to a complete stranger to these places.
