And that's the main difference (I think) between Reddit and bitcointalk--the latter was around from the beginning and was created exclusively to discuss bitcoin.  There's a rich history to this forum, whereas Reddit is a discussion forum for many different topics, and personally I can't stand that site.

I also think it's pretty cool that the look of the forum hasn't changed--at least it hasn't since I've been a member, which has been over six years.  Did it look just like this in the very beginning?  I'm assuming so.  In any case, a lot of folks think bitcointalk is outdated, but does it really need a whole bunch of bells and whistles?  I think not.  The purpose of it is to facilitate discussion, and I think it does that just fine as it is.  It would be very weird to me to see the new forum software (whenever that's coming out, probably in the next century).