Cursory experimentation suggests that the forum remains backwards compatible with old links (I was initially concerned about that). It'll take me a while to get used to the changes, but I think they'll be quite helpful, especially in the long run.
(For those who don't know, SEO is short for Search Engine Optimization; it involves techniques (such as the changes discussed in this thread) that make it easier for search engines to parse websites for content at a high level and gauge the relevance of our content with respect to their users' searches.)