I brought this up before, but my main issue with the new boards (style/function wise) is that it seems cluttered and harder to read, especially at a glance. It may be that I'm used to scout and adaptation takes time, but I think it's harder to read over here (on the main page, not once you click on a thread)
So here's my suggestion:
Make another column on the right for "thread started by:"
This would make the thread title the only thing left justified, but keep the current row height. It will space out the titles and make it easier to read. Also have both larger, bolded titles with smaller, un-bolded authors makes things a bit cluttered.