Quick reply has been enabled for all accounts. This can speed things up for you if you've got a slow connection, as you can reply from the thread without loading the actual reply page. The actual page is still there, accessible with the reply button. This is mainly good for simple text posts. If you need more formatting, hit reply.
If you absolutely hate this change, you can go to Profile > Look and Layout > Use quick reply - and select 'Don't show at all" with the dropdown.
We are also now displaying child boards when viewing a board index, to give child boards just a little more visibility. We do use them heavily here, after all. You can alter how your own account sees these things and change it back if you like - those first two options, show description and show child boards on every page inside boards.
Other items of interest in the look and layout section: you can change the number of posts per thread (25 default, currently unchanged) as well as the number of topics you see when viewing a board. I don't care what you set, if you want to load 100 posts, go for it! If you frequently visit from mobile and want to speed things up, you can disable avatars and signatures as well.
For now, I'll analyze stats and see how this change affects things. I think it will make it easier for members to join in on discussions, particularly new ones who are inexperienced with Forums and those folks who are on mobile.
Let me know of any errors related to this change, and if you've got suggestions I'm all ears! Always like it when people let me know what they think.