I like the distro boards. Especially since Mandrake (which I use) tends to "tweak" things a little.
I haven't really had any use for a language board, though.
P.S., I remember your spammer. About a week later they hit a game forum that I help moderate. I recognized the username and the post from here, so I kicked it right away. We've had similar problems with porn spammers before, and have taken the same step as you - all moderators have the ability to moderate any board (officially used only in emergency, of course).