Using WSC is great because a lot of content can be added to a site that uses it and it will get indexed by Google, there isn't much on Facebook that Google cares about.
It's more than enough when Facebook cares about. You don't need Google to search Facebook. Actually you don't even search, Facebook find's it for you by itself.
With that in mind, a new approach, and "goodies" offered, for my upcoming website / forum project will be a high priority.
It might be the harder part, to attract new members, why should they search for your community, when social networks offer something that may not be perfect but is right there?
Forums usage has been in decline for well over 5 years, now it's much more obvious today. The web has changed with how people use it and forums are dying because of it.
Not only forums but small local social networks too. Some years ago there were tons of them. Forums are still a little bit tricky to use. You have to have an email address to register. And we can't even deactivate this required field. Make it easy, make it fun!
Sure. But getting a forum to its former glory is really difficult too. I'm currently trying it with Traumprojekt. It's old and it's big.
That makes me think of adult subjects, which could be any number of things from drugs and health to sex and relationships.
It would be very sad, if this is the only thing, forums are good for. But yes finding the right niche is crucial.
Alternative lifestyles - offgrid living, festivals, self-sufficiency, living on the road, alternative spirituality, vegetarianism/veganism and so on.
That's a topic typically covered by social networks. If you are registered on social networks like facebook you don't need another community. This forums are indeed dead. That applies to webdesign forums too, but for a other reason, you don't create your website from scratch nowadays, instead you use a cms. And there you ask for help.
The site has so far been funded by donations, with a little bit of money from Adsense and the Ebay Partner Network - During the good times I could afford every addon and upgrade going, but this month I'm having to pay for the hosting out of my own pocket.
What's the topic of the forum?
Not all but most.
You should never edit the files! There is a template editor in ACP.
Resolution? I thought they are vectors?
Some sort of linux. But does it really matter?
None I guess.
If WoltLab hands the products on a silver platter right in the course of the beta [...]
It's available for download. 
if you want to use smaller smilies the option is there anyway to create another smiley cat via ACP and stick another collection of smaller smilies in that separate from the main default ones. I did same with WBB 4.1 by creating another smiley category and uploading and listing all the xenforo ones in it. So there's no need to include two different smiley sets by default.
There's no need for this big smileys. A smaller version would be perfekt for every font size. And no I do not plan to decrease the font size. But I consider this topic for admins who want.
[...] they don't suit used here due to now bigger font-size used.
The default font-size everybody can change for his own needs.
Will the well known and much better traditional Smileys be available too?
And don't forget, the place is a important ad location, which should not be blocked.
Maybe. But it shouldn't stay this way.
Is it just me or are this new smileys really hard to understand? I get most of them wrong.
Would really be a motivator for registration.
