I can partially agree. The code base has some pretty deep problems like encoding handling. And the layout is anachronistic. This seriously compounds many improvements. Sure they are still possible, but a mountain of spaghetti and inclement weather ensues.

I use tobyink's style sheets quite happily.

Update: oh, my real point stands. I don't complain specifically because I'm not willing to fix it. Volunteering others for work is terrible etiquette.

Problem is we are discussing (at least) three different questions here

a) Design

b) Usability

c) Cleaning up / Modernizing the code base

Regarding...

... a Design

Most visitors here are passive and silent and just read. And IMHO is PM alone responsible for a huge part of Perl's web presence.

So improving the design should be priority, and something like TobyInk's solution proves that it can be without changing the code base (even with a responsive design for mobiles).

... b Usability

Toby's solution is also changing the UI somehow, this by parsing and relocating buttons and menus.

And I agree that this could be facilitated by changing / adding some CSS classes. But this too can be done without revolutionizing the code with just some little patches. °

... c Modernizing

In theory the migration to a new code base with real MVC separation (Catalyst, Mojolicious, ... ) would be beneficial, but I don't see this happening soon (or rather never). ²

Cheers Rolf
_{(addicted to the Perl Programming Language and ☆☆☆☆ :)
Je suis Charlie!}

update

fixed "mobile" typos

footnotes

°) I'm already using several private nodelet hacks to improve my mobile experience

²) Probably you are aware of problems I don't know about ... (for me this looks like a Perl6-like generation project).

I agree. For my personal perspective, as a potential volunteer, c blocks a and b. If a job is even 10% harder than it absolutely needs to be, I'm'a complain about it. I think without c, a and especially b (Ajax voting, readily available data, tagging system, all the things that make StackOverflow pleasant), is more than 10% harder.

With the state of JS today, you could essentially do a complete rewrite of the site using the backend as little more than a data store but you'd be constrained to the schema, the encoding quirks, the sub-HTML rules, and more, I'm sure.

The reason I come here is the community and culture as much as the expertise and this is a text based profession so, again personally, I don't care that much about the design and old-fashioned UI. Some monk with reading difficulty is going to assert I said nothing should be done. I didn't. I'd love a revamped site. I just don't volunteer others for jobs I'm unwilling to do.