Opinions Needed

I'm putting the site through some changes, mostly because I, myself, am getting tired of some of the layouts, thinking they could be better. But then, that is just me. I need some opinions on a few things. Be sure to respond, please.

First of all, I'd like to address the homepage header. I have already come up with the code for the new one and have it posted, but I can easily change it back. Or ...

*I can keep the header as it is. Personally I like it because it's organized and not so cluttered, but some information isn't readily available unless the guest (or member, I suppose) is interested in what it has to say. Some of it isn't important for an idle guest, a lot of it is simply reference for someone seriously thinking about signing up, or just for members' amusement. Well, if you know what's there, you should understand. Also, in this format, I can add some more things to the header, since I have more space to manipulate, if need ever be.

*I can change the header back to how it was before. There was really nothing wrong with it, but there was a lot of information in one little spot. Sometimes I got the sense of things being a little cluttered, and I some people have told me that it was a little overwhelming. Then again, they didn't RP much. It wasn't interactive, so a person new to the web would be able to look at it and get everything at once, but there wasn't room for manipulation. If I wanted to add something, I'd have to restart with the code all over again, really.

*I can ditch both headers and allow the portal option for the site. The portal is a whole new page on the site, that will act as the site's new homepage, and display all of the information in an organized matter. This option would be great for a guest who wishes to browse the site and get an understanding of what goes on here, but for some member-only things it could get a little annoying. If you don't know what a portal is like, you can visit my old site and get an idea of what goes on: http://artistsblock.forumotion.com/ Just, uh, keep in mind that I can do better than that now.

*Or you can just throw opinions at me and I'll sort through what you're trying to say. I'd rather not have a portal and a homepage header as well, though.

Another thing, then.

Well, nothing specific. While I'm on a little coding roll here, or whatever you want to call it, I'm willing to give most of anything a chance. There are a few things I'd like to change, the face claim list for certain. The clumped organization on that doesn't work so well. But while this site's going through a mini-makeover, anything that has bugged you? Anything that you think can be fixed? I'll look into most of anything.