User blog comment:BertH/Layout and navigation updates coming October 3/@comment-99756-20120920030317/@comment-3508190-20120920042626

Not sure, if you read my post before posting yours, but I'll debate you anyway :)

Design - as in: look and feel - is not the only reason for a fixed layout. It's not even the most important reason. The main reason for the constraint is readability. Anything beyond 60 to 80 characters (depending on typeface, fontsize, etc. etc.) makes reading uncomfortable and reduces your reading speed. Ultimately the chances that you'll read an unconstrained text from start to finish drop drastically with screen width.