There is a difference between what may be essential and what will help make FR a better, more inclusive site that will attract more people and help the conservative cause. I remember when one quite crotchety president of one of the world's largest computer companies said that personal computers were just fancy stuff that weren't essential and people didn't need.
Well, that company no longer exists. Before that, though, there was a computer engineers who wanted to create a new operating system with all kinds of icons and fancy things. When he was told it wasn't essential, the guy went somewhere else to do it. What he did was create Microsoft Windows, which helped put his former company out of business and pushed Apple back to a meager (5%) market share. Lesson: Adapt or die. Very few things that technology based can sit still and survive. You know what else is true? We are all resistant to change but often find that some of the new stuff is really very good once we use it and then wonder how/why we did without it.
Best regards,
Many are rightfully worried that the clean FR interface, if rewritten (not likely very soon if at all) would become a gaudy, animated wreck.
It's difficult to explain on a forum like this that "form follows function" and that new, useful functionality can be added without falling into the trap of bouncing animated clown-face avatars and such that add no informational value to the interface and simply serve to waste resources and make the whole experience trivial.
Jim has said FR is due for some upgrades but he didn't say what.