Discussion forum layout could be improved

Question

In each discussion forum, topics are listed a fixed box nested inside several frames surrounded by white space.
For example, although Numbers forum has 1,911 topics, with default settings only 15 topics are listed in a 9.2" diagonal box, in the center of my 24" screen. Below the list, I am invited to click through 128 screens to see all 1,911 topics, one screen at a time. (The list length can grow to 50 by editing settings while logged on; I did not see how to do this when viewing the list.)
Suggestions:
1. allow scrolling through topics within the list view
2. allow topic list frame width to scale with the window
Can a discussion thread view be expanded?
I hope this is an appropriate comment for this area. Thank you for listening.
L Jones

Answer 1

The width of the frame containing a topic's text (incl. scroll bar) is approx. 800 px. This is pretty standard practice on pages with one column of content.
Even a site like the New York Times', which is five columns wide, has a max width of approx 975 px, with the main body of content and links contained within 625 px.
A 24" screen is great for many things, but it brings no particular benefit when it comes to viewing web pages at standard resolutions, because most pages are designed with smaller displays and handheld devices (e.g. the iPhone) in mind.