Thanks for the feedback!
The points you raise are good, but some of it depends on personal preference. I usually go for a basic simplicity, myself. So, I pretty much erase the gradients or patterns in windowskins. But I realize other people really like them, so I'll see if I can add a subtle texture.
The "side" double-border looked too plain across the whole window, and the links looked too busy when surrounding the window. This was a best of both worlds alternative. I encourage everyone to change it up as they see fit, though :3