Thanks for creating a higher-quality forum.  I read that you are collecting requests/ideas for development, so please allow me to submit a couple:

1) reformatting to favour the message - all the stuff at the the top of the screen before you can scroll down to usefull comments is huge - I have to scroll down every message.  In this regards SH is better (even though the tenor is better here!).  Too difficult to see messages, which is what brings us here.  For one, the title of the hub is HUGE in vertical terms.

2) screen widths, one more time:  everyone has remarked on the widths of the writing and viewing not matching up.  The response that the "developer used a fixed width" is lame, sorry to say.  I did software engineering 25 years - we know this can be done better.  It's important!! 

3) better message view - it's too much work to keep a tab to refresh the hub over and over, and then load each message one by one.  There really should be a way to see the discussion in one long column.  I'm not asking for threading (which might also be nice), but a more efficient way to read.  This slow method pushes me back to the evil empire of SH.

4) I read that if I want to post a picture, I can send it to you and you'll give me a URL.  Nice, appreciate that.  At the same time, there has got to be a way to browse a pic.  I have lots of little maps and notes to contribute.  They don't have to be big.

Overall, your concept is very strong, and that is attracting a good quality crowd, which I think will bring you visitors and advertising $.  However, the design is a bit on the verge of amateur (forgive me) - it needs a Jonathan Ive (Ives?) or someone like that to streamline it and make it navigable.  Then your already good site would rule!

all best / cedartree