feeling lost in the forums / reading difficulty

[Orion Pobursky]

I wonder how this could be solved. My first request would be if it would be possible to get a much, much simplified skin,
with all the bells and whistles reduced to a bare minimum.

Can you maybe give me a "mockup" of what you'd like to see?  Themes can be set on a per-user basis so if the current theme isn't to someone's liking, I can make a new one that only those users who want it will see and, if it's popular enough, it'll become the default.