In Reply To #1
Well, to tell you in a short story. Forum Planet screwed things up pretty bad with their "forum upgrade", that was announced a while back. When it finally came a reality, it messed up peoples post counts, names, the layout, added massive flash ads and generally made the board feel shoddy. (To an uncomfortable point for many.)
Some of the problems are apparently fixable, but the place is pretty much beyond repair, after the fallout. Sad that the legacy of that place will be no more, seeing how it's planned for everyone to move here. (and for the old forum to be possibly nuked?)
So nope, I don't think there'll be an alternate reality of these forums.