need to ensure that the server is configured correctly, the forum posts not posting to the latest forum block on index, would indicate something is not setup correctly, i would say both of these issues are permission related, look at ownership of forum, and look at ownership of the avatar directory where the images are stored, remove the .htaccess file from the avatar module so that you can attempt to call the files in your browser?
Also noticed home page forum posts block is not connecting.
Would either of these 2 issues be anything to do with cron jobs?
When a GIG is not enough --> Terabyte Dolphin Technical Support - Server Management and Support