Can you dump the intro text and simply increase the subject line size to 30 or 40 chars? Is there a limit to the subject line size? (I would imagine there might be)
Personally, I think the subject line and intro are pretty much the same.
P.S. Can it also be set up so that if you are replying to a current post, that the "subject line" is auto-populated instead of having to manually type a subject? If someone really wants to modify the subject line on their reply, they can always do it prior to posting.