It's a wiki. It was improved! :)
Subjectively.
I feel that if you find it useful, then you know where to click for it. I believe new users were confused by the front page and I think that it's a good idea that the page is as tidy as possible. It's hard to get a good
Did you actually get any feedback on how new users found it? I've not seen any requests for comments in the list or anywhere else.
layout using wiki markup but I think it's better now than it was before. If you think you can improve it, go ahead.
I see it often cited that the vast majority of entry points to our wiki is not via the HomePage, it is via direct entry from Google or other search engines, and from bookmarked links. If this is the case, there should be less emphasis placed on it as a point-of-first-contact, and more on making it useful These changes may have made it less cluttered, but they have also made it less useful. There are other ways of doing it. Yes, I can go ahead and change it myself. However, I don't believe the HomePage should be changing as people see fit. It should be well thought out, with some discussion over what is useful to include. I certainly hope there will be a lot of thought and consideration put into the new theme and layout.
I guess this marks the start of a project to retheme the Wiki that we (the committee) have been looking at taking on. We'd like to make it easier to find all the information that people need, immediately (information about a wiki, Linux, the LUG, and upcoming meetings).