these are better, except the fact that since you can change the background colors it may clash unless a different template was used universally.. which was too much work back then just picking one out. still, it's a start.
*edit* on second thought, lets change the theme. i like
http://www.businesslounge.ca/ for its simplicity, even though it's smf 2.0 (2>1.1.12), including the fact his home page is the overall forum. less = more