Here's an idea I've entertained in my head and thought I should offer it up for discussion.

Guild/Clan forums.

Basically each guild/clan would get their own forum that only members of that guild can use. I (or another forum admin, and other designated moderators) would create the forum and group for the guild. They would also create an associated forum group for that guild. The structure would be pretty much the same as it is in-game. The only ones who have access to the guild's forum are the guild group's members, moderators, and administrators.

What do you think?

I think the forums need to be simplified a bit before new sections are considered, but I support the idea of guild sections.

We have lots of very underutilized forums, and I think it ends up detracting from conversations when people are caught up in where they should be writing instead of thinking about what they want to write. Here's a suggestion:

[First bracket]
Rules & Policies
News and Announcements
[Second bracket]
General Game Discussion -- (good for eq trading talk too)
Idea Box
Bug Reports and Support
Builder's Zone
[Third bracket]
Off Topic
Roleplaying Discussion

Even the Steam Users Forums with tens of thousands of daily readers sticks to a relatively simple structure for their main discussion areas. Don't underestimate the power of simplicity when it comes to presenting information. Having a guild area could be fun too (kind of like a house message board) and could lead to organizing get-togethers and such.

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Lastly, about the background, it fits nicely but you might want to test a design where the cells are solid-color backgrounds (maybe a light tan or pale yellow) so that the words in messages stand out a bit more. The design seems very well organized and technically-sound though.