The forum software has just been upgraded from v4 to v5 - essentially, a whole new platform. This has obviously introduced a new and different look and feel to the previously familiar forums. It's as fresh to me as it is to you, as we'll have to figure it out together!
One point to reiterate that will affect all members right off the bat is that you will need to sign in the your email address (the one associated with your SMPM account) and usual password; using your display name ("Kevin Futter" in my case) will no longer work.
Kev