Orange is a gross colour.
Clearly the colour scheme is what's keeping the thousands of new members away!
I suggest putting the word "forum" or "message board" in the title of these boards like " Canadian Political Events - Message Board" so that shows up on google's search page.
Keep in mind that MLW is the #1 search result for "Canadian politics message board" and every other combo and how few new members that site has had the last few years.