SEO is nothing more than making a site easy to use. I never have understood why people act like it's rocket science. It's not like a site grows itself no matter how many times you keyword stuff "See (insert fame celebrity of your choice) nude!" OK, now that you've clicked on the link there's nothing to see here. Forums don't build themselves which seems to be what people think SEO does. It never has and never will build a forum for you. You have to put in the work. That's the real trick to SEO.
Well know, seo doesn't do that but seo has nothing to do with keyword stuffing. It is really a science and very complicated and there are many, many, many factors that can help a site rank.
By doing good seo, you are putting in the work. Not doing it is the easy way and usually not the most successful way.