> Just wanted a middle ground - oldschool style just less cluttered and less unnecessary info. Did I miss something? Did no one figure it out?

I'd say WoltLab Suite (https://www.woltlab.com/en/) matches that description. The forum part of the software is not free/OSS, though. There is also other modern, commercial, PHP-based forum software that would match your description (XenForo).

Disclosure: WoltLab is my employer.