Everyone who responded had a valid point to make, Rob, so I'm sort of batting now in cleanup position.

To me the most important point, and the one that I most want to emphasize, is that your contributions matter, and that you're an integral part of the place. It's all so insubstantial, constructed out of people, really (cue the Soylent Green jokes) and you could be visualized as helping to hold up the roof. You're a load-bearing member, dude.

I'm sorry you're experiencing "UI fatigue", yet another piece of software to use. I guess my best mea culpa is that I'm trying to return the basic design to its hallowed roots, like you describe; while doing so with modern tech and adding new features I hope will support the mission of conversation.

Which sounds good, but I know that living inside software under development can be like watching sausage being made from inside the slaughterhouse.

FWIW, development of this software is still my fulltime job, and I'm actively working on the things that are pissing you (and others) off the most. All that confusion over what you can and can't do because of your "rank" (ugly concept I inherited from the base software) will go away in the next major revision, which will include a new access control system made for a forum.

You've hung in here an amazingling long time, Rob, and I can't help but feel that it would be sadly ironic for you to give up this close to what I feel like might be, if not the "finish line", at least the rim of the hole we're dug into. I'm hoping for daylight soon. Please stick around!