"The orange asterisk is of the same color as the headline box" This annoys me at times, too. Maybe grey would be better. "and refresh itself once in a while"

"The orange asterisk is of the same color as the headline box" This annoys me at times, too. Maybe grey would be better. "and refresh itself once in a while" Only if it did it without meta-refresh. Meta-refresh would be evil. "I find the background having a very close color to the text and it makes reading a bit problematic" Only for the OP's post, for me. The rest is fine. I think the OP's post is a little harder to read, but I don't mind much, as it is like that to distinguish it from the comments. The OP's post is typically not as interesting to most as the comments, which is why it is grey. "The down-voted comments literally cannot be distinguished from the background." If you want to read it, highlight it. I don't mind this one. Basically, I like it the way it is for the most part. I really dislike what others have tried to do with it, which I think is a good sign.