Graphical User Interface design may seem a "no-brainer" to many, but is in fact a complex combination of "art and science." Readability via language; font size, color and style; organization of text and graphics; color coordination, graphics selection and placement, use (or not) of animation ... it's no easy task to design a "good" interface--what is "good" varies from user to user. One of the best types of solutions has been appiled here: skins. They provide users with choices while maintaining certain consistencies that make the board both readable regardless the skin used, and (relatively) easy to maintain for those behind the scenes.

I think the main problem is that many of the board's features are not advertised; new members spend a long time using the stock stuff before discovering they can customize the interface and their "personality" here. Perhaps a sticky describing the many features of this board (not just the skins, but custom titles, avatars, chat, search, etc.) in the Entrance Hall would help new users to discover and use them faster. Maybe it's already there somewhere (I haven't looked) but I thought I'd put this idea forward.