ok forgetting about the forums for a second i think we should enhance the actual site, i think we should do more to promote vb3 hacks (i.e. removing the vb2 hacks from hottest hacks)
adding a bit of personality content (dunno how)
adding something like HvBotM (hacked vB of the month) to highlight how somebody managed to bring a community together with hacks.
a highlight on HoTM is should have it's own table on the index show the 12 preview winners, with a link to an interview with the winner about their hack and the thought that went into it (personality content)
something for the non-hackers wouldn't go a miss so Hack Request Of The Month, i know in my years here, i have thought up some awesome hacks.
also on vb they've got something referring to support (how long between support requests and answers on average and last 30 support issues. (this idea would require the splitting of support threads, and adding a new sub-forum named testimonials (i'm sure you could hack it so that the testimonials thread was made automatically along with support thread. infact sorry to confuse you, it would be better if the release threads were for testimonials i.e. "awesome hack" and then set up a sub-forum for support made automatically.
ok now the hacks database, i think this needs to come back, with this it's easier to review hacks, it shows what the hack was and what it would work on, also a few extra check boxes would be nice i.e. converter from previous version, add-in's available, etc, etc.
also i would suggest making another style the default as Dark Blue is horrid on 1280*1024 it has additional borders and don't look too professional, a default vB white or grey would let it look like it tied in with .com further.
it would also be good if we could use the main site to have a FAQ of questions in regards to hacking, i.e. how do i set up a blank vb page, how do i refer to info in the post table, etc, etc.
something nice might be the ability to get vB-Dev's opinions and interviews from time to time referring to hacks and hacking, getting them tied into the site a touch more.