I was just comparing the old forum to the current one, and the what strikes me is that the old one was actually quite functional in style, not particularly friendly, and there was a lot of white (at least  by default, which I used) as in the current one. However, the main difference is, I think, a feeling of almost agoraphobia due to the lack of clear boundaries between posts and between subforums, etc. This lack of structure leaves the eye to wander and I feel like my mind is glazing over as I read it. I'm sure the lowered contrast is also a factor here. But as a priority they really need to get it to bump threads to the top when they have been posted to. I think it's a mistake to underestimate the impact of this foible. They should not have been so dadblasted set on this "tight integration" thing, and got some well-established and scalable forum software like vBulletin, which some the busiest forums on the internet use.

By the way, the cache flushing seems to have worked permanently. No more "Not...?". I'm sure we were told to do this, but it's really hard to find clear answers on that forum.