calling it a problem isn't quite right. some people like gilded picture frames, others don't want to be distracted from the central message.
nothing is really taken away. stars, title, and post count are just three ways of saying the same thing. even so, mouse over the stars and it all pops up for you.
well, ok. the ip address and report to moderator links are completely removed. i've never had a reason to use either of them and, from a design standpoint, the visual noise became grating. same with the thread's subject repeated over and over.