Yes, that extra side panel has started appearing on my computer as well.
So, if you leave 'Favorites' open in IE6 - and now have this panel cluttering up the right hand side, the available screen area becomes unacceptably small.
Yes, I know the geeks can use Godzilla or whatever it's called, but the website should be compatible with the most widely used browser, Internet Explorer 6.
Currently, without the 'Favorites' panel open, contributors' text occupies only 50% of screen width; with 'Favorites' open, that shrinks to only 31%..... When PPRuNe loads a forum, only 9.5% of the available screen area is now devoted to thread content, the rest is either advertising, the 'welcome' bar or white space - and that's
without the 'Favorites' panel open.....