too much space around text

[Christof Krüger]

Hi,

> I am using GNU/Linux for several years now and like it very much. One
> issue I always disliked is the extensive space, windows managers require
> on the screen to display text. Because of this menus and windows become
> too big thus the screen looks crowded and confusing.
Well, this is clearly a matter of taste. Having much space around
controls does not make the screen crowded at all. Personally, I find too
small controls crowded and confusing.

> Also I could not manage to customize the space consumption in KDE or
> GNOME. Is there any possibility to change this behaviour? If so, why it
> is not changed by default?!
All this is not just by accident. There a guideline behind this:
http://developer.gnome.org/projects/gup/hig/
Typically, multiples of 6 pixels are used for margin and padding.

Regards,
  Christof Krüger