[Princeton]

I am playing around trying to find something different. It seems every board has heavy graphics slapped on top of and below separated forum categories. That's not my thing, and everyone's doing it. It gets old.

I totally agree ... this adds more weight to the page (thus slows the rendering of pages especially if the html is badly written).

Amy,
You are posting in a vbulletin site (as you know) so people here will be looking at your site as they would any other vbulletin site. Hence you can expect feedback regarding the layout change a little on the negative side.

Personally, the portal system is fine but the default style tends to put focus on each block and not the content. Yes, this is more about the style than the portal system.
All you have to do is blur your vision a little (cross your eyes--lol) and what stands out? I'm gonna go out on the limb here and say that the blocks do and not the content. (Color has an affect on how objects/text are seen.)

I agree with the on/off icons. You should, at the very least, display the "new" icon when new content is submitted into the forum. In this manner, your users and you will be able to see where new content is located.

Personally, I do not see anything wrong with the layout of your forums. It just needs a better visual appearance. It kinda reminds me of Yahoo directory but with BIG BUTTONS.

Have you asked your members what they think about the new layout? A simple anonymous survey will help you to determine if the changes hurt or hinder.

Oh yea, I almost forgot ... what is your site about? There is nothing on the front page that tells me this.
What does the "EA" in EAForums stands for?

Why display the active users block to unregistered users? I would hate to see it if you had 200 people online.