“Are scrollbars located close enough to where users typically work with a Website or list box to encourage the fastest possible use?” is the question du jour. Even though left hand navigation has settled into a web standard, people are asking if a right hand navigation might be better. Bob Baily says yes though Eric Schaffer says we’re stuck with it on the left, William Hudson doubts it, James Kalbach thinks right is right on, and iaslash is discussing.
It’s Eric’s comments that give me the most pause. Just because something is a convention doesn’t mean we should keep it. Some conventions are good, some are so deeply ingrained their is nothing we can do about it, and some can be overthrown. James’s work on Audi suggests the latter is possible in this case. Moreover Eric suggests making scrolless pages, a Sisyphean task, considering variations in browsers, and perhaps unwise, considering the alternative is clicking links though many short pages, often an undesirable alternative for users.