Bob, some good additional features, but the layout is not intuitive, but is busy, and slow loading for some. This design is NOT an improvement, although it is pretty. But since most people have a small mumber fo sites they regularly visit, I suspect some new visitors won't be coming back to a difficult to navigate web site.
Check out what semper_libertas has to say. He's a web site marketing designer.
THINK DRUDGE!
I disagree that this is less friendly if you are new... This one has more help in the sidebars and in the top header than the old one, and clickable links to switch between views, on the left hand side where people are trained to look for menus. I think it is much more user friendly than the old one, but I have been in it from the start.
The old forum was easy for you to navigate because you were used to it, not because it was easy.
The old site was SOOOO 1998. It's 2002. We need something more customizable.