[Jon.]

Yes, you MUST remove that. It's distracting, ugly, and makes the forums look like someone's myspace profile. The fact that you've got 2 overlapping makes it look even worse. Stick with a soft gradient or a solid colour. I'm not a great fan of your banner either - the gradient effect on the images needs to be sorted out, and I'd suggest giving your pages a little more contrast.

That said, it's pretty much minor things that need to be changed. It'll look so much better when they are, though