To get rid of the alternating colors you can edit the style
Control Panel » Styles » Edit or Add a Style
select the "Forum Summary Properties"
There are 26 properties under this heading
If you look just to the right of each property there is a copy link.
Select copy for all 26 properties.
Then you can select the update preview area button as you go to see the change.(if you want to)
When you are done select the update button to save the changes.
Takes a whole 20 seconds.
