My first thought when I saw them was - Boy, that's annoying. (I dropped by the chat area for opinions on whether to even turn them on)
Since having them on I've gotten used to them (but they don't serve a purpose on the 'Active Topics' page). I think it's a handy thing to have for a quick preview of a thread and will even show pics if they're near the top of the thread.
The size of the box and font can be modified somewhat and I'm looking into introducing a slight delay.
Bill
