Re: Homepage other than Activity or Admin Blog (or a WP page)
@jivany – yup 
@Modemlooper – as stwc posted above, he wanted a front page other than c) A WordPress Page
Should one want to continue in that vein (via Settings > Reading > static home page), instead of creating the special template file home.php, he can:
1. Create a Page template, e.g. page-home.php and paste 2.a. or 2.b. within and upload to server.
2. Create a page called Home using the page template and publish.
3. Go to Settings > Reading > Static home page and choose Home.
4. Delete the link (forums or blogs or groups) from header.php navigation div to avoid duplication
