One thing people need to understand is that with software packages, you always get a combination of good and not-so-good. For a variety of reasons, including the availability of current security patches, we needed to update the software. This "default" theme also addressed some very real design shortcomings that existed within the previous structure. Before, you may recall, multiple task links were grouped in a single colored tab, and people got confused -- they couldn't find the "profile" link, they had trouble finding the "new topic" link. Now, for example, the "reply" button and "new topic" buttons stand alone and people can find them easier. Before, on a daily basis users would PM me asking "how do I start a thread"? I would tell them: "look at the upper right corner of the post window for 'New Topic'. Typical Reply: "I can't find it". I would sometimes actually give them X,Y coordinates from the edge of the page and they could still not see it.
Re It Ain't Broke...
In some respects, the system WAS broke. The forum crashed three times in three weeks in April. That is bad because each crash creates a risk of fatal database corruption. We had a problem that needed to be resolved. Trust me, FORUM members have absolutely zero tolerance for a site that is down for more than a few minutes. When the site was down for a couple hours I received the email equivalent of obscene phone calls demanding that the site be restored immediately.
Three main reasons for the change were to achieve: 1) Faster site performance; 2) Less chance of crashing; 3) Greater security. The new software (and server change) promised all those things, and from what we can see so far, it is already delivering that. The previous software pack crashed three times in three weeks, requiring emergency (and expensive) action to get the site back. If the software change makes the site more stable -- as we hope -- this is really more important than font colors or whether the button ads have borders.
Re Design Features/Colors
For Larry -- we actually Beta Tested having borders/no borders around the small ads. We also had to find something that worked with screen sizes from 768 pixels wide to 1800 pixels wide -- and we found the borders look strange on a really wide screen. The vast majority of folks said the sponsor buttons looked better and were more noticeable without frames (borders), but having frames IS one feature I can easily restore.
As for the Orange type, that is a "Theme default" and can be changed. However, again, most people seem to like the contrast better than the previous dark blue. You can never make everyone happy. With this install/upgrade we did try to stick to defaults as much as possible because every little change you make adds another layer of code that can generate potential errors and conflicts. If I hear enough people say they can't stand the orange category headers we will change that.
6br was gone and when it finally reappeared it had changed! Everything is different. Looks nice Paul thanks for all your hard work keeping this sight the ongoing best gun forum out there 
Really a stellar job for sure THANKS.
