It doesn't help that it was rolled out as the default well before simple existing features like "rankings other than 'hot' on user pages" were implemented.

But destroying old CSS and then not displaying sidebar text in the new default view is what's going to have serious consequences. For all the talk about customization and moderator tools, they've made it so that new users won't see sidebars of rules, useful links, or related subs. Talk about undermining engagement and useful contributions...