The main problem is that the default colours do not look good. The clash between the sidebar and the main window is bad. Either go for light on dark or dark on white, but not both! Sure you can change it, but that's not the point. It ought to look good as soon as a new member arrives. I never had a problem with the length of the old sidebar and I agree with those who dislike the dropdown menus. Meanwhile other problems, like the speed with which interesting forum threads get buried, remain.