Yes - I agree...too many designers leave the page width under the control of the reader by leaving it set at 100% when they lay out.
Although I run a PowerBook laptop with an 11" screen - and wide-eying is not a problem for me - there are many desktop screens of 14-16" and more for which full screen viewing is a real problem. Like watching Cinerama (if you're old enough to remember that experience).
I always plan my web page width at 600 pixels maximum, and notice that most of the more experienced designers give about that scale too.
It also means you can control line breaks and text around graphics much more accurately.
Unfortunately this forum and some others also have an edge-to-edge width by default..although you can use the HTML function to trim it.
Good point, thanks for bringing it up!
Ken Silver
Author: "How To Make $100,000 A Year Part-time Creating How-To Manuals"