Watchdog, yes, the databases are fully interchangeable thanks to phpBB's support group. Also, what's CSS to do with anything? Most decent boards use CSS. I'm not sure what you're referring to with that comment...?
As far as exploits, yes, people do tend to try and exploit it more than other forums. However, by keeping the board up-to-date and keeping regular backups, there's nothing to worry about with it. There are also many good security things you can do to prevent many such issues (such as disabling HTML and having certain settings in the .htaccess file).
As far as being professional, you can make it look however you like so that it's not the same as everything else. And, in all honesty, this forum doesn't look very professional to begin with.
Anyhow, I'm not saying phpBB is the only way to go. I personally like it and use it without any issues and with good security settings, but that's my choice. However, I do believe we should consider using a better forum. If not phpBB, then something else. Just my opinion.
