Well... I'm not that keen on the new design, either, but speaking from a web designer's point of view (no, this is not my design), I'll just offer a bit of a defence on the part of whomever did this setup. The neutral colors are appropriate when the primary interest on a site is the art. Very bright or striking design colors can conflict with large, colorful images. Yeah, I do think this washed out taupe is pretty bland, but I understand the design choice, and it's a valid one. The drop down menus ARE a pain in the neck. I don't like them either. I like to right-click and open in a new tab so I can have mutiple threads open at the same time, and you can't do that with drop down menus. HOWEVER... People have complained about how long the sidebar was, and that all options weren't available on all pages, etc. The drop downs are an effective way to get a compact, clean sidebar that isn't cluttered with tons of links. Again, it's not to everyone's taste, and I personally prefer the links, but it's a perfectly valid solution to a perceived problem and design issue, so I guess I can live with it. I do wish the site had been set up with individual style sheet choices (which can be saved with cookies) so that we could choose our own colors more fully. I really don't think much of this color scheme as a whole, but that's more a matter of personal taste than of the design being flawed. There's nothing wrong with bland neutrals. ;) Basically, I agree with the consensus that the colors are icky and I don't personally like them, but the design, itself, is solid and clean, and the design choices are valid, in my opinion. bonni

"When a man gives his opinion, he's a man. When a woman gives her opinion, she's a bitch." - Bette Davis