There was some lost space before, although indeed less, but it wasn't as noticable since the sides were white. Much more space is lost via the avatar placement at the left of the post, rather than the previous above-post location. I am currently looking to put the avatars above the post to get that space back. The border however will stay, since Otto has some super secret plans for that space!
The blotches will bereplaced with a WWII theme as well, so you can stop scatching.
