At first look/use, I'd say things were improved. Meaning movement around the site seem 'slicker' and that emoticon thing was a real PITA for anyone that used them. If there's a simple/easy (checkbox) option to return the avatars back to squares, that would be better since none were originally conceived to be presented in port-holes. Plus, they seem a bit smaller? At this point the avatars are all but pointless, meaning they provide no functionality at all? It's not a life threatening issue ...