David Barnett - SW Florida
>Although I generally fret and grouse about every little change, this format works for me.

READABILITY

An old but useful rule of thumb is the 66-character line for maximum readability (given 'proper' leading, 'ems', font density, and way too many other things about which to quibble and/or tweak). I now get this without having to adjust my window size, making for faster scanning. Again, for me. Research on tracking suggests that longer lines increase the chances of returning to the beginning of the same or skipping two lines ahead*.

This may also involve differing and personal reading styles and speeds, of course, as comprehension is uncorrelated and not easily predictable. The jury's been out on this for the last few hundred years, so what works for you is what counts. As for returning to where one was, I use multiple windows, so it's easy -- but I have a wide monitor. A year ago I might've felt entirely different.

NAVIGATION, DISPLAY, MARGINS, ADS

I prefer default UBB sort order and I don't use guestbook display, so others may find it awkward. All in all, I find the new format clean, better organized, easy on the eyes, and nothing to spoil MY Thanksgiving, heh.

As for those margins and ads, try thinking of the page as 'illuminated'. Of course, ads work. They make me want things, for better or worse. I've already succumbed to one just today. Beyond that, as these ads enable the free use of this board and sustain this community, I see them as serving my own ends and am rather grateful for them. It's how enterprise works. It's how things get done. Ever lust over a Soviet handplane?

Oh, and while I'm a handtool enthusiast, I'm not offended by pictures of powertools.

Happy Thanksgiving!