The old one scrunched up at the top looks really awkward.
Most definitely. But methinks there are bigger issues to sort out before worrying about a simple graphics/layout view. YMMV.
Agreed, the alternate looks a lot better imo. Also, from a usability standpoint, I think the plain-text link to the main site would be better off somewhere in the footer.
Yes, I keep accidentally click back to the main site instead of the board.
This. The old site had a header in the center that took you back to the main page.
Tiny header is really nice though. I dislike banners that take up a lot of real estate.
The header has just been modified. They have dropped the bottom part and enlarged the site name.
Yes, it looks much better.
But the very soul and identity of this board has been enshrined in the words:
Lose that, and we’re just another message board!
Oops. My mistake. Ignorance fought.
But note: I just played around with the Straight Dope Light and Dark themes. They DO have the magic words there in the header (and the overall header is nicer), whereas the Sam’s Simple header doesn’t have those words.
Otherwise, Sam’s Simple is a cleaner leaner display with less clutter. So I hope TPTB will get the Straight Dope Light header installed into the Sam’s Simple theme Real Soon Now.
This is a problem. If you expand the site title, the logo/motto has to go.
If you keep the logo/motto visible, the site title becomes too small:
What shall we do?
See my post just above. The Straight Dope Light theme has a header with all the right magic words and looks real good. Just need to get that into the Sam’s Simple theme, and any other themes that seem popular here.
Okay, yes. Now I get it. 
I like the header in the SD Light theme, looks nice.
That’s why Senegoid’s proposal makes sense, but I’m not sure Discourse people will allow it.
Wait, we can’t put our own header into Sam’s Simple theme? We already have our own header there, just not the same one. The one in Straight Dope Light is better.
I’m for it. 
percent. 
the new SD themes are fantastic! Love the header, love the fact that clicking on the SDMB logo takes you to the front page, and loving the home button to get to the column.