There are a lot more "spacing" issues then the ones mentioned above ... the "down arrow" button marking new posts also loses its spacing in forumdisplay ... the postbit buttons all become cramped together in some areas ... forum text links separated by white space all get smashed together, etc ...
I am giving this hack a chance, I really am, by hunting all templates in my test forum that contain visible white space and grumpily replacing them with
... just incorporating the hack isn't enough if you like your page to not look amateurish with all the lost white space...
Even the slightest misalignment makes me cringe, what more for squished links