Maybe it's because I'm lazy, but a simpler way of setting up the forums should be possible. It's slow (because the entire thing needs to refresh and everything), instead why not create a module (or a program that outputs data into a "setup" file) that allows you to design your forums in a speedy manner? I could develop the gui and basic functions in VB .NET, but a lot of Linux people out there would kill me for that. So this is where someone else can step in...my basic design is simple:

Have a list box, in that list box you'd have the category names, when you click on them it takes you to a dialogue box that shows all of the forums in that category. You'd have all of the attributes off the the left hand side (moderators, postability, etc). You can enter in information to add, click on a forum and modify, or delete (via right-click-> delete or some function like that). After the setup you can click on a save feature that outputs it into a SQL file which can then be updated via phpadmin or whatever you use (or probably restored by using a backup/restore module that can support single table backups/restores). It'd also support loading of the SQL for the allowance of forum changes after the user's site has been in use.

I know this post may not belong in this section, but I'd really like to see something like this get started and if enough interest is sparked I'll setup a sourceforge.net page for this software.