I highly agree, it is not only the forum but also the way how the different chat channels are merged. I try to use the matrix rooms, but the way how it is organised gives the impression it should keep users away and not attract them, which is sad.
I disagree. I think classic forum software such as this one is much friendlier than Discourse with its high reliance on JavaScript/AJAX, its extreme hand-holding features targeting users who have never used a web forum before (which is particularly annoying when you sign up for more than one Discourse forum and have to go through all those "gamified" "achievements" all over again and again), and its idea of "user-friendliness" such as the use of vague relative times instead of precise timestamps.
I strongly disagree. This just works. And I can use this site in Links, which is sorta important for someone using the kind of operating systems discussed here, in my opinion.
Discourse or not, I would certainly use a mobile-friendly forums website a lot more, and I would love to follow some discussions/new threads in a section via RSS/Atom feed.
Discourse allows for both, but there may be other ways to address these issues.
This actual version works great without JS. Don't change it!
Discourse searches are not necessarily faster, they just show a fancy JavaScript loading animation instead of the interstitial so it looks faster.