feature-requeststatus-declined
There are some coming features that need the extra space, so we can't make it more narrow. Making adjustable is complex and we won't be doing that at this time.
Can we narrow the right column in smaller viewports without removing it entirely?
Below around 800px the right column moves to the bottom of the page, which is good for phones but loses some important information (question stats, professional disclaimer, community bulletin). As soon as the right column appears, though, it grabs something like 300-320px of width. If that kicks in at about 800 px, that's around 40% of the width, which is too large a proportion for a page that should be focused on the Q&A. I'm browsing at about 1100px right now and it still looks a little greedy. All of this is with the left nav already collapsed, to be clear.
Most of this content would fit just fine at a smaller width; mostly it's text and that can wrap. In fact, it worked fine at, if I recall correctly, 220px for years before being widened to accommodate standard ad sizes. On sites without this change, part of my right column is behind a scrollbar and that's fine; it's lower-priority content, after all. But responsive design means"make it all fit, no horizontal scrolling".
I don't begrudge the ads; in fact, I look at them (or, on sites that don't yet have this change, most of the width of them and I'll scroll if it's something I haven't seen before). But I'd like the right column to be less dominant on smaller viewports. Is there some way to meet both needs? Is there some place to put the ads so that they're fully visible without claiming that entire slice of vertical space? Do we have the option to change the width of the column partway down, so that after the ad we can shrink HNQ and give Q&A more space? I'm just brainstorming here, not proposing a specific solution.
