Well to update to just another forum platform seems quite pointless, since this one serves the purpose of exchanging messages just fine. If something needs to be done it has to be a more radical change. But the problem is in which direction.
Crowdsourcing ideas seems like a modern way of evolution, so an idea and work rewarding modular platform is probably a good candidate. Users could post their own ideas and/or vote/give bounty to them. If the ideas can be planned into milestones, then users achieving those milestones could claim the bounty or at least a portion of it. Maybe smaller tasks that are more achievable would speed up the development of the project. But most importantly, the vox populi would steer the direction of development.