The problem with threads skins and the lack thereof is there a bit difficult to create right now and they are pretty limited, hence the need for the UI update and a better skinning method. Also the fact that not a lot of people share the skins they have created. I'm guilty of that as well as I've done quite a few skins for customers, but have failed to make them available here.
My comment that Thelockman referenced as just being a message board, is a bit limited. What I said is we'll always be a forum first. Things change, we have to adapt. We'll end up with many features that social networking sites have, but it all extends around the forum itself.
The big gap between 6.x and 7 really set us back. Since then we've had to get many of the big features in and it's taken quite awhile for each one and it's left little time for other things. Once we get beyond that I'd expect things to evolve a bit quicker.
