So I made a few tweaks to the timeline code. The links are now 'normal' and the title of the post is in the 'title' tag of the link so most browsers will bring up the title as a tooptip if you hover over the box.

I also moved the '?' to the left and made it 'Recently:' which should do a better job of giving the timeline a context, and hint to its meaning to the new user.

I'm probably done futzing with it for the moment. I may implement a 'new to you' piece of functionality, but that has its own pitfalls. For now I'd like to let it sit. I'll be asking in a week or two whether you actually use it. :-)

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Fickle: Okay, I nixed the 'recently' bit because having any text at all made spacing inconsistant across browsers. That's the aesthetic reason, but the real reason is that I like how it looks without indication. I think there's something fascinating about an interface that you get to learn. Note that you don't have to 'get it', as it's perfectly usable without ever knowing that the bar does anything at all. There's an 'ooh that's neat!' quality to discovering things on your own.

Call it an easter egg.